UNIT-III
Gordon's Functional Health Patterns
Marjorie Gordon (1987) proposed functional health patterns as a guide for establishing a
comprehensive nursing data base. These 11 categories make possible a systematic and
standardized approach to data collection, and enable the nurse to determine the following aspects
of health and human function:
(1) Health Perception and Health Management Pattern: Data collection is focused on the person's
perceived level of health and well-being, and on practices for maintaining health.
• What is your opinion about health?
• Are you immunized about seven target diseases?
• Last immunization?
• Do you have any allergy? If yes then type of allergy.
• Any surgery in past? What type of surgery?
• Last physical examination & for what purpose.
• Are you using any medicine recently?
• Do you know about these medicines?
(2) Nutrition and Metabolism Pattern: Assessment is focused on the pattern of food and fluid
consumption relative to metabolic need.
• Ask about their skin, scalp and nails?
• What is your diet menu?
• Any food restriction regarding disease point of view?
• Any food restriction regarding religious point of view?
• Any food like or dislike?
• Any food allergy?
(3) Elimination Pattern: Data collection is focused on excretory patterns (bowel, bladder, skin).
Excretory problems such as incontinence, constipation, diarrhea, and urinary retention.
Urine:
• Color of urine, amount, frequency, odor and any discharge.
Any urinary problem, dysurea, Anurea, Oligourea, , polyuria.
Defecation:
• Are you using any laxative? If yes which?
• Any problem during passing defecation?
(4) Activity and Exercise Pattern: Assessment is focused on the activities of daily living requiring
energy expenditure, including self-care activities, exercise, leisure activities respiratory and
cardiac system.
• Do you any breathing problem?
In which apnea, hypoxia, hypoxemia, hypercapnia.
• Do you have cough? (Productive or non productive)
• Any changes in heart beat during exercise?
• Do you feel pale during exercise?
• What type of exercise you do or any problem during exercise?
(5) Cognition and Perception Pattern: Assessment is focused on the ability to thinking, decision
making, and problem solving.
• Orientation about time place and person.
• Any difficulty in sentence making?
• Loss of memory.
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