The Ecomap is an assessment tool representing the strength, flow of energy, and
stressfulness of the relationship between the family and their community. In a
professional setting, understanding these connections can help you clearly
communicate the information to other professionals who will be working with the family.
For this assignment you can use a “real life” family, a family from a book, or a
family from the media. If you are using a real-life family, use pseudonyms to maintain
privacy.
Instructions
1. Begin with APA Title Page (see checklist at bottom of these instructions to
ensure proper APA formatting)
2. Next page: Repeat exact title, write a brief description (paragraph form) of the
family of your choice, including
• member names and relationships (including length of marriage or partnership
if that applies)
• demographics e.g., age, race/ethnicity, gender of each member (optional:
preferred pronouns)
• context e.g., city where they live, type of residence
• reference your ecomap (Figure 1)
3. Draw the basic family ecomap (see example)
• Title it appropriately (flush left, it should look like below with a different title;
see APA manual or instructions at bottom for format)
Figure 1
Title of Figure 1 in Capital Case and Italics
• Draw a circle and put family member names inside the circle. Draw basic
relationships among family members including generations and links to
children, partners, parents, siblings (see example). Only include family
members who live together in the household.
• Draw additional circles surrounding the family circle and label with
individuals, agencies, groups or other social connections. Be specific.
For example,
o instead of “school” indicate if it is a college, middle school, elementary,
etc.
o for extended family, use name and relationships e.g., Mother – Betty.
o for health care place indicate if it is a primary care clinic, hospital, home
care, etc.
o for health care providers indicate if it is a nurse practitioner, home care
nurse, physician, social worker, etc.
o instead of “CNA job,” write “hospital” or “home health” – it should be a
person or entity, not a title of a job.
o avoid relationships that are not connections to people (instead of “cancer”
or “alcoholism” you would choose oncologist, hospital, rehab, drug dealer,
etc..).
o Any other person/agency that supports the family or the family supports
3. Draw relationships (see example)
• Draw lines between the family and the surrounding circles using the following
legend to indicate the relationships. (do not use this legend to indicate
relationships among family members inside the circle). When relationships
are to the whole family draw the line to the outside of the circle. When
relationships apply to individual family members draw lines to that person
inside the family circle. (see example). The family ecomap is used by many
different family health professionals and the legend is standardized so do not
make up your own legend (but you can recreate this one for aesthetics).
4. Interpret the family ecomap (1-2 pages, double spaced)
• Continue the narrative in APA format, using at least one reputable source
from a library database, answering the following questions:
o Describe 4-5 significant relationships in terms of strength and flow of
energy and resources using examples.
o Overall, how healthy or unhealthy is this family? Describe your rationale.
o What does this mean for the family (each member and the family as a
whole?)
o Do they have the right type and amount of support from the community?
Describe your rationale.
o Do they contribute to the community? Describe your rationale.
o Are there any services they could benefit from that they do not currently
have? What are they?
o Cite your reputable source (should be from a library database such as
CINAHL or PubMed, not internet webpage)
▪ Example: Jayden works out five days a week because according to
Posadzki et al. (2020, p.45), “physical activity and exercise reduces
mortality rates and improves quality of life.” Then put this reference on
the last page in proper APA format.
o End with a conclusion sentence within the last paragraph or a conclusion
paragraph
5. Provide a reference page in proper APA format
• Read your paper aloud (or have someone else review) to ensure it makes
sense. If it doesn’t make sense to you, it will not make sense to me.
6. Review the APA checklist before you submit (or exchange papers with a friend
and have them review it):
- Instructions
- 1. Begin with APA Title Page (see checklist at bottom of these instructions to ensure proper APA formatting)
- 2. Next page: Repeat exact title, write a brief description (paragraph form) of the family of your choice, including
- 3. Draw the basic family ecomap (see example)
- 3. Draw relationships (see example)
- 4. Interpret the family ecomap (1-2 pages, double spaced)
- 6. Review the APA checklist before you submit (or exchange papers with a friend and have them review it):
