Growth Of Single Fathers Essay

According to Livingston (2013), when you compare the rate of single fathers that are present now, as opposed to the 1960’s you discover that there has been a significant rise. A ninefold increase has taken place since the 60’s bringing the count of single fathers to an astonishing 2.6 million as of 2011, meaning that approximately one quarter of homes are headed by a father. This rise has even superseded the increase that was seen in single motherhood (p.1) making it even more surprising. This growth of single fathers has taken place in part due to changes that the legal system has undergone, the increase of having children outside of marriage, and divorce rates (Livingston, 2013, p.3). As the Norther American culture has evolved divorce and single parenting have become a reality that has spread immensely (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tabacco, & Harmon Hanson, 2015, p. 36). The single father may be facing many challenges, one of those …show more content…
354). The value of being surrounded by family when you are in a time of need is important. Many may view the family as an obstacle when providing care, at times the nurse will have the tendency to label the family (Freidman et al., 2003, p.352), but we as nurses must take into consideration that our focus is the health of the patient and that involves integrating the family into the care plan, as family values are what forms how the family will respond to the stressful situation and how they will cope with their health status (Freidman et al., 2003, p.364). My desire is to respect the beliefs of the individual and who they consider family, who they want as support at their bedside, without feeling frustrated or overwhelmed by their presence as I must put myself in their shoes and remind myself that family can impact the health of the