A nurse is using the family as context approach to provide care to a patient. What should the nurse do next?

A) Assess family patterns versus individual characteristics.
B) Assess how much the family provides the patient's basic needs.
C) Use "family as patient" and "family as context" approaches simultaneously.
D) Plan care to meet not only the patient's needs but those of the family as well.

When the nurse views the family as context, the primary focus is on the health and development of an individual member existing within a specific environment (i.e., the patient's family). Although the focus is on the individual's health status, the nurse assesses how much the family provides the individual's basic needs. Family patterns are in the realm of "family as patient" approach. Often, the nurse will use the two simultaneously (family as context and family as patient) with the approach of "family as system." "Family as patient" involves planning to meet the needs of the patient and those of the family as well.