Background: Gastric bypass surgery (GBP) is the most common treatment for morbid obesity (body mass index 35). To date, the person with obesity has been the main focus in bariatric nursing and research, although the person coexists within their family. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe family functioning in relation to GBP. Methods: Open ended questions were used. Nine families were interviewed on two occasions within 2 weeks 3 months after surgery. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed according to a hermeneutic method. Main Findings: An ongoing process of alterations related to family functioning was identified. Before, GBP families experienced distance and disengagement. Immediately after GBP, there were changes within relationships. Families experienced a period of difficulty, in interactions, while adapting to the lifestyle changes and altered positions. After 3 months, families experienced enhanced closeness in inter-relations within the family and increased social interactions as a whole family with friends and relatives. Conclusions: To better support families and enhance family functioning, bariatric nursing care needs to shift focus from an individual to a family perspective. Further studies are needed to gain a longitudinal perspective and improve understanding of family functioning after GBP.

Weight-loss surgery requires lifelong lifestyle modifications for the maintenance of weight loss and health effects, and can affect both the individual and family. Earlier research indicates that the quality of social relationships has positive and negative influences on wellbeing and health. There is little research on family-life after a member has undergone gastric bypass (GBP) against obesity. Thus, this study aimed to develop a classic grounded theory about families with a member treated with GBP against obesity. The study design used classic grounded theory and included data from 16 interviews. Families’ shared a main concern of unexpected changes after GBP, resulting in the theory Stabilizing family life, explained as a social process to decrease uncertainty and find stability and well-being in family interactions. The social process develops differently which entail families: attaining unity, returning to old patterns, or disconnecting to find stability, depending on the discrepancy in expectations and knowledge. This is affected by the overall life situation, life-stage and relationship quality. The theory highlights unexpected change as a potential challenge for the family, as well as how they resolve this. Hence, the theory can be applied in care strategies for families. Identification of families needing support to stabilize family life after GBP requires further research.

BackgroundThe General Functioning Scale (GFS) was developed to assess self-perceived overall family functioning. The scale has satisfactory psychometric properties, is internationally recognised and has been used in different contexts. However, no validated Swedish version is available. Healthy family functioning can support patients and help them adhere to treatment regimens. Moreover, it maintains the physical and emotional health and that of the family as a unit. Yet, there is limited information regarding family functioning postgastric bypass surgery. Thus, it is important to use validated instruments to understand family functioning in bariatric contexts. AimTo evaluate aspects of reliability and validity in GFS in a Swedish bariatric sample, focusing on factor structure. MethodThe Swedish version of the GFS (S-GFS) was administered on two occasions to 163 participants who had undergone gastric bypass surgery 6-8 weeks prior to testing. Internal consistency, temporal stability and construct validity were assessed. ResultsData were positively skewed. The S-GFS showed good internal consistency (ordinal = 0.92) with a sufficient overall mean interitem correlation (0.500) and adequate temporal stability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.833). After modifying response alternatives, confirmatory factor analysis indicated acceptable fit for a one-factor model. ConclusionThe scale is a promising tool for assessing family functioning in bariatric settings. The S-GFS showed satisfactory reliability - consistent with prior research - and acceptable validity in the study sample. This study contributes to the limited research on the scale's validity. However, the S-GFS needs to be evaluated in different cultural and clinical contexts, focusing on various aspects of validity and responsiveness (sensitivity to detect significant change over time) in different samples.