The process of maintaining health and responding
to symptoms begins with the individual
through selfcare. Levin et al. [2] define self-care
as a process where people function on their own
behalf in promoting their health, and in preventing
and treating disease. Self-care includes actions
to maintain health and prevent future
illness, respond to symptoms of possible illness,
and manage existing illness conditions. The
Family Support Model also responds to the
needs of families who are often the primary, or
even the sole, source of support for chronically ill
or frail individuals. It seeks to link the informal
and formal systems so that these resources will
complement one another and provide optimum
support to the individual and family.
The ultimate goal of the Family Support
Model is to build competency and self-reliance in
families and patients so that they can effectively
manage their own health and any illnesses that
happen their way. Except for those patients and
families who may need intensive case management,
the Model assumes that the majority of
families can be empowered to be good care
managers. The programs and services of the
Family Support Model are based on a broad
definition of health such as that developed by the
World Health Organization (WHO): ‘Health is a
state of complete physical, mental and social
well-being and not merely the absence of disease
and infirmity.’ [3].
While the model is described as a ‘family
support model’, we recognize that in modern
society ‘family’ means much more than those
persons related by blood or marriage. It includes
individuals tied by emotional bonds, i.e. significant
others. It also describes an interacting,
interdependent system: what affects one
member, affects the other(s). Family can be further described by its roles: as care provider, as
social support system, as emotional support system.