Introduction

Families play a central role in nearly every aspect of an individual’s life. Family units are important in all cultures throughout the world. Based on U.S. census data, the United States identifies more than 84 million families (Statista, 2023). U.S. families have increased by nearly 40 million over the last 60 years (Statista, 2023). Families significantly affect individual health over a person’s lifetime. Families have both passive and active influences on health outcomes. Passive influences include genetic disorders passed within families, unspoken family values that affect healthcare consumption and trust in the healthcare system, and interactions that promote or limit emotional well-being. Families also have an active role in health, directly influencing lifestyle choices, such as exercise, nutrition, substance use, social determinants of health, and socioeconomic status. Interactions among family members may result in a positive or negative impact on an individual’s health status. Families and family dynamics change over time in parallel with the life stage of adults, the growth of children, the creation of new family units, birth, death, and changing health patterns. With a longer average adult life span, individual roles within a family may change many times throughout an individual’s lifetime.

Nurses play a crucial role in the support of families and individuals within the family structure. From education regarding family dynamics and coping skills for managing acute or chronic health conditions to social considerations for managing dysfunctional family interactions and family interactions in the face of illness, nurses empower individuals and families to create supportive and healthy connections.