Care for Sick Children - Essay Example

Care of sick Children Introduction Overview of the key issues involved in the principles of palliative care for children Palliative care entails playing an active role in taking care of the well-being of children in various different ways. This means taking care of children’s body, mind and spirit. Palliative care also involves considering the well-being and giving support to the child’s family. Mostly, palliative care begins after a child is diagnosed with a certain disease. The palliative care continues regardless the fact that the child receives the recommended medical care or not. This entails that the care continues even if the child does not receive direct treatment for the diagnosed disease. Health professionals are entitled to evaluate and alleviate a number of issues relating to the child. These issues include physical and psychological well-being of the concerned child. Moreover, medical professionals are also entitled to consider the social distress of the affected child. In order to have an effective palliative care, it requires application of a multidisciplinary approach. This means that in palliative care, the family of the child is supposed to make their contribution and be ready to assist with available resources. However, palliative care also takes place even if there are limited resources. Another significant issue is that palliative care can be provided in various areas. These areas include various tertiary care facilities and public health centers. Palliative care can also be provided in the affected children’s home. There is close connection of palliative care with a child’s death. Death tends to be the only issue that hampers application of and access of palliative care to children. However, even with the occurrence of the death, palliative care is entitled to take place as one of the components of treatments. Through palliative care, children and their families get the opportunity of having a new hope for the life of the affected. Palliative care also helps in preparing the families for the worst that might occur any time, which in this case is death. Challenges that nurses encounter when implementing palliative care to children The child’s awareness and understanding of their dying One of the main challenges that tend to affect nurses when implementing palliative care to children is stress (McCloskey et al., 233). Many people often consider the death of a child as unnatural event. This mentality contributes in making many of the nurses to be psychologically affected knowing that the affected child may succumb to death any time. Stress also comes because of the demanding responsibilities associated with caring for children with terminal illnesses (O'Leary 435). Mostly, these responsibilities contribute in making anticipatory anxiety to nurses when addressing the needs of these children. Newly employed nurses into this field are the one who seem to be mostly affected with the issue of stress. This is because they are in most cases practically unfamiliar with the psychological situation that these children and their parents go through. The other main challenge associated with implementing palliative care to children is uncertainty of prognosis. Prognostication refers or in most cases is acknowledged as the employment of inaccurate medical science in adult palliative care (O'Leary 435). However, this issue is mostly more complicated and challenging in children compared to adults. Most of the children affected with this condition are those with non-malignant disease (Junger et al., 6). There are cases where some children with terminal illnesses have lived beyond the estimation of prognosis. In such cases, the affected children have apparently lived in various terminal phases (O'Leary 435). This has resulted to health professionals or nurses revisiting the various addressed issues now and then. Some of these issues include artificial hydration and nutrition. They also tend to check on appropriateness of further investigations of which is a challenge in their daily obligations (O'Leary 435). Another challenge associated with palliative care to children especially on the issue of child’s awareness and understanding of their dying is resources (Lindley & Barbara 79). It involves many resources when taking care of children with terminal illnesses. O'Leary (435) states that there it involves an increase in utilization of resources when addressing the needs of these children. In situations where there are minimal or resources that may help nurses to accomplish their role effectively, it becomes a great challenge to work on handle the case of palliative care. The other challenge tends to be working with other teams (O'Leary 435). Sometimes it becomes a challenge when creating a competent relationship with other team members when providing services to children with terminal illnesses. For example, most of the nurses argue that it becomes difficult in most of the time to create a strong relationship with families of the affected child compared to families of an adult patient who may require palliative care (O'Leary 435). In children’s case, nurses tend to be more involved with the patient. This means that they spend most of their precious time with the patient. This becomes a challenge because they are sometimes not paid additional money for this service. Another issue related to this challenge is that there is occasional where blurring of roles between various professionals emerges. Ethical issues and care challenges related to truth telling One of the main ethical challenges related to palliative care to children is the potential fact that the child is unaware that he/she is dying (Jones Barbara & Sherri 424). Some of the children affected with terminal illness are of tiny age of which they are yet to speak on anything related to their illness (Steele et al., 274). Most nurses refer to this issue as an ethical concern because of the many questions that arise. Some of these questions include why the child is to suffer at such an age. The other question is what the family of the child has done to deserve going through this tough and tempting situation. The other ethical issue relates to the possibility that the parents are yet to understand the inevitability of their child’s death. It is mostly hard to tell parents that the condition of their child is becoming worse and there is no chance of future hopes for the child to survive. This is the most difficult issue to tell the parents. Nurses are entitled to give hope to parents even if the chance of the child’s surviving is minimal. Some nurses may find this ethical issues so challenging in the fact that their conscience may prohibit them from telling a lie concerning the condition of the child especially when there is no hope of any recovery. In order to overcome this challenge, Tomlinson (436) indicates that there is a need for effective research to be done so that nurses can be able to address the issue without any difficulties. The other significant challenge related to truth telling while conducting palliative care to children is the potential burden that the affected children together with their parents may incur in their lives after knowing the truth (Tomlinson 436). In most case, nurses do not know about anything reacted to what the affected persons perceive in relation to the terminal disease issue. Most of the potential patients and their parents may have participated in numerous researches related to palliative care. This means that they are somehow advanced with the condition that their beloved one is going through. On this case, it becomes difficult for the nurses to disclose the information related to the condition of the child especially if chances of living are minimal (Sara et al., 377). Challenges related to the assessment of the experiences, roles and needs of the child’s family members as they deal with the reality of the fact that their child is dying. Death of a child tends to be a loss that affects most families emotional and psychologically (Vats & Paula 391). On the issue of terminal illnesses, the impact of more effective because the family members of the child require much support during this period. One of the challenges on this case relates to financial support (Liao 361). Most of the families undergoing this situation tend to spend a lot of money while taking care of their child. Moreover, specialists’ services that are costly are often required in order to provide the recommended assistance to these children. Unfortunately, not all parents are able to access or pay for this services (Woodhead 367). The hardships related to finances may lead to some of the parent experience other psychological disorders like stress and depression in their lives. This worsens the situation in relation to the fact that their child is dying. Another issue is that most of the nurses may not be in a position to offer financial support to these families and this becomes a great challenge (Kendall-Raynor 5). The other challenge occurs when offering various education related support to the family members of the child with terminal illness. Many of the children affected with this condition tend to lose their motor development. Others lose their ability to communicate or even feed themselves. Moreover, others cannot mobilize because of the effects of their conditions. This means that the extensive care is required around the clock for these children. In order to offer the recommended care, various equipments are needed to offer support to these children. Extensive knowledge is required so that the parents and family members may be able to use these equipments effectively. This becomes a challenge to the nurses, as it is their obligation to show parents how to take care of the children. They are required to make a follow-up if the parents are comply with the requirements of taking of the children. Strategies that Nurses Use to support the provision of palliative care in dying children One of the strategies that nurses use to offer support to theses children is managing of various physical symptoms (Namrata, Ramamani & Saroja 85). On this case, nurses offer their support to these children by helping in reducing the pain that they might be undergoing through because of the disease. This is mostly done by offering the recommended medication (Hain 80). The other strategy that nurses employ is offering advice and assistance. Advice on how to handle the situation is one of the most important issues that these children require (Price, Patricia & Marisa 124). This means that nurses are obliged to provide important decision to family members regarding the issue of child’s care support (Hultman, Elizabet & Constance 325). The other strategy that nurses use relates to offering emotional, psychological and spiritual support (Malcolm 921). This kind of support is offered to the child and all the concerned parties related to him/her. The other strategy is helping the children get what they require and that can be of any help to them. This means that nurses offer support to these children. They also help them to access music therapy if they depict to be interested in the area. This strategy assists the children the children to forget the pain and the condition that they might be going through. The other strategy entails offering advice to parents on how to talk to their children regarding the condition they may be going through (De graves & Aranda 134). This means that nurses advice the parents on how they are supposed to disclose the information about illness and death to their children (Jones 44). The advice also covers on the bereavement support that parents are supposed to give to their children (Better Care 55). Conclusion The above information illustrates that nurses are concerned with various demanding issues related to the palliative care for children. These issues involve offering emotional, psychological and even spiritual support to the children. Moreover, the above information indicates that there are certain challenges that emerge while nurses address the issue of palliative care for children. Some of these challenges include stress, uncertainty of prognosis and resources. Other addressed challenges include the issue of child awareness concerning that fact they are about to die. Nurses also encounter the challenge of potential burden that parents of the affected child may experience after knowing the truth about possible occurrence of death. The above information also indicates there are various strategies that nurse employ with the aim offering help to children with terminal diseases. Some of the addressed strategies include managing physical symptoms, offering advice and assistance and offering emotional and psychological support. Other strategies include offering advice on how parents are supposed to address this issue to their affected child. The above information is of significance importance in relation palliative care for children. Works Cited "Better Care: Better Lives: Improving Outcomes And Experiences For Children, Young People And Their Families Living With Life-Limiting And Life-Threatening Conditions." 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