Factors Influencing the Situation
The problem of African-American single mothers living in poverty is associated with a range of sociocultural factors. According to the research conducted by the NewsOne website (2011), seventy-two percent of African-American children are raised in single-parent households (para. 3). Compared to countries like Ireland and New Zealand with relatively high rates, the United States exhibits the highest percentage of children living in Black single-parent families. Furthermore, a significant portion of single-parent families are families with single mothers. Thus, Mrs. Brown’s situation can be unfortunately regarded as common.
Despite the U.S. health system providing care to those in need, financial aids required to facilitate care to individuals like Mrs. Brown’s mother do not come from the government. Because Mrs. Brown has no medical insurance for anybody in her family, providing her mother with the necessary medical procedures on her income is impossible. The crisis is linked to the fact that the burdens of the entire family are on the shoulders of Mrs. Brown, and her inability to find a job is another contributor to her depression.
Type of Crisis Situation
Mrs. Brown’s emotional state has also been undermined by the loss of her father and her husband, who probably were the main financial providers in the family. Mrs. Brown’s depression and lack of motivation to continue living stemmed from some financial and emotional issues that should be resolved immediately. The family crisis can be differentiated as an expected crisis; however, the fact that Mrs. Brown does not want to live anymore suggests that the type of crisis is urgent.
Interventions
Because Mrs. Brown is an adult with three children, it is important to involve them in the intervention. Mrs. Brown’s 18-year old son should become her mental support and help her in the house. Because he is 18 years old, he can be advised to pick a part-time job to earn at least some money. Mrs. Brown’s children should become a focus for her intervention; she should understand that her children are her motivation in life.
Additionally, Mrs. Brown should be advised to join a community support group to share her problems and experiences with other people. Trying to find a job outside her community may be an optimistic objective; however, it is important to set goals for Mrs. Brown so that she can distract herself from the thoughts about suicide. Nursing strategies to help Mrs. Brown to improve her mental state should also include attending to her spiritual needs, implementing behavior modification techniques, and being overall supportive (Serrano, 2012, para. 9).
Different Strategies
Because the African-American population, especially women, deal with problems similar to Mrs. Brown’s situation, it is important not to limit her to a stereotype, broaden her communication circle, and advise her to search for jobs outside her rural community. Mrs. Brown’s case is about the moral support that will then facilitate financial support. According to the research conducted by Hudson et al. (2009), support networks such as the New Mothers Network facilitate the sharing of common experiences, assimilation of information from nurses about caring for their families and themselves (p. 350).
Mrs. Brown can also be advised to search for help from similar knowledge and experience-sharing networks. Mrs. Brown’s case is not unique, unfortunately, but offering her support and encouraging interactions with others can become an effective intervention for resolving the crisis in the family.
References
Hudson, D., Campbell-Grossman, C., Keating-Lefler, R., Carraher, S., Gehle, J., & Heusinkvelt, S. (2009). Online support for single, low-income, African-American mothers. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs, 34(6), 350-355.
NewsOne. (2011). 72 percent of black kids raised by single parent, 25% overall in U.S. Web.
Serrano, M. (2012). Depression nursing interventions. Web.