FAMILY

This study examines the impact of war on the family as reflected in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun and Sefi Atta’s Everything Good Will Come. It explores how war and political instability destroy family ties, distort affection, and transform domestic life into a site of suffering and endurance. Both writers reveal that conflict extends beyond the battlefield, invading personal spaces and reshaping identity and human relationships. Through the Postcolonial Theory, the study interprets how historical oppression, power struggle, and the search for belonging continue to influence the African social order. It analyses the themes, characterisation, and dialogue of the two novels to show how war breeds trauma, silence, and loss within homes. The findings show that both Adichie and Atta represent the family as a mirror of the nation. In Half of a Yellow Sun, the Biafran War dismembers homes and leaves emotional ruins that reflect the nation’s tragedy. In Everything Good Will Come, dictatorship, social inequality, and moral repression recreate a form of domestic war that stifles growth and love. The research concludes that African women writers use the family setting as a platform for recording the psychological aftermath of national crises. It contributes to scholarship by revealing that the true cost of war is not only in the number of the dead but in the brokenness that lingers within the living.

Background: stroke remains a major health concern worldwide, often resulting in long term disability that demands continuous care and support. In Nigeria, family members usually serve as the primary caregivers of individual that have suffered from stroke and their family functioning may strongly affect their beliefs, attitude and adherence to rehabilitation. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the connection between family functioning and health beliefs of stroke survivors receiving treatment in the University of Benin Teaching hospital , Benin City.
Methods: A descriptive cross sectional design was carried used and 86 stroke survivors’ was selected using convenience sampling. Data was gathered using a demographic form, an adapted short form family assessment device (FAD-GFS), and the health belief model stroke based questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used for data summarization. Inferential statistics of Pearson’s Chi Square was used to assess the connection between family functioning and health beliefs in patients with stroke.
Results: A large population of the respondent (87.2%) had a good family functioning and 68% demonstrated strong health beliefs to stroke recovery. Family functioning was shown to have a significant connection with health beliefs (x 2=11.187 a , p=0.004). marital status, religion, ethnicity and living arrangement significantly influenced family functioning while health beliefs was significantly influence by religion and stroke duration with p=<0.05.
Conclusion: Family functioning influence the health beliefs of stroke survivors in Benin City. Also families and stroke survivors who experienced supportive family system demonstrated a stronger and positive health belief about their stroke recovery. Therefore, incorporating family centered interventions and education into stroke rehabilitation programs is vital for improving the health outcomes of stroke survivors.