NURSING INTERVENTIONS WITH FAMILIES - A DEMAND OR AN INVITATION TO CHANGE

While nurses are becoming more adept at the assessment of families, in tervention with families is an area that requires increased attention. This paper provides a critical analysis of existing nursing literatur e pertaining to interventions with families who are managing a member' s chronic health condition. Three orientations to nursing intervention s with families (traditional, transitional and non-traditional) are pr oposed, based on underlying perspectives regarding objectivity and lin ear versus systemic thinking. These orientations are further distingui shed in relation to beliefs that are reflected in the intervention lit erature.