Lecture 12: Understandig health, illness and coping - childhood & adolescence Flashcards
What is health promotion?
health education for chronic illnesses
What are the major chronic illnesses listed?
Cystic fibrosis nut allergies asthma juvenile rheumatoid arthritis HIV aids risk of substance abuse/dependence
What is the importance of cognitive development for understanding health, illness and coping during childhood and adolescence?
important to always check in to see what someone understands about their illness but also where they are in their thinking
need to be a good listener and ask important questions about their understanding
what is the importance of cognitive level of understanding for preparation of medical procedures in children? (surgery)
Research suggests the people with more knowledge cope better with medical procedyres
What factors should be considered in public health promotion?
The level of understanding of the public as you are targeting them to receive your health message
How long has preparing children from hospitalisation and medical procedure programmes been going on for?
since 1980s
What is now current practice with children hospitalisation preparation programmes?
parents can stay in the hospital or nearby
this makes a huge difference to children
What are problems with the programmes that prepare children from hospitalisation and medical procedure?
They are often not well attended
or they are targeted at a wide age group (from 3-12)
and what a child understands at 3 is different to what they understand at 12
need a more specific targeted programme for younger and older children as they are at different levels of cognitive development and understand differently about their illness
What are some of the things you need to do for children to prepare them for a medical procedure? Applies to out patient procedures as well
Individual one on one preparation
to Establish cognitive level of patient,
determine illness experience, (positive? negative?)
establish experience of specific treatment
check understanding of explanations
What usually happens to people going into the health setting for the first time?
stress levels are high, so memory probably isnt very good because they are focusing more on the environment, and not someone whos talking to them.
why should you check in with child patients?
a lot of terms misunderstood for children
e.g. odema in stomach may be heard as demon
may be distressing to know they have iron inside them, or IV (ivy), or bugs.
becareful what you say, also with metaphors you use especially with young children e.g. lungs = balloon
What does effective preparation include?
depends on developmental level
type/acuity of surgery - the more age appropriate knowledge, the better it is for them
relevant past experiences (prior surgeries)
cultural / ethnic background (avoid unnecessary stressful situations)
family composition and dynamics (happy or conflict. Some times better if one parent isnt around e.g. overemotional mother)
available support systems
How can you prepare a parent for their child’s surgery?
make sure they are calm and confident around child,
make sure they understand anything and know they can ask you for clarification
Why might a surgeon be intimidating to a child?
they do not see people with masks on every day.
What are the best ways some programmes have done before to prepare children forsurgery?
tours of theatre and related places
videos,slides, movies about surgical procedures
Interactive materials – colouring books – Ipad?
•Puppet shows
•Medical play using actual hospital equipment (not appropriate for very young children)
•Books using popular figures children can identify with such as “Big Bird” or “Dora the Explorer”
•Board games
•Art therapy
•Relaxation techniques & coping
