Nursing Report: Treating a Child with Chronic Illnesses

My client is a 16 year old Caucasian female, was admitted into Children Medical Services on July 28, 2015. She lives with her mother in a mobile home. Mother and father are divorced because her father was abusive. Since mother is now a single parent finances are a struggle. Mother also has depression and is receiving counseling. My client has Dysthmia, a chronic type of depression in which a person's moods are regularly low (cite). She was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder in which people have unwanted and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations, or behaviors that make them feel driven to do something (cite). My client has a problem with inattentiveness, over-activity, impulsivity, which was diagnosed as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. She also suffers from Posttraumatic Stress from observing father abuse towards mother when she was a child. Her previous medical history includes ADHD, Asthma, Vaginitis, Urinary Tract Infection, Sinusitis, and Otitis Media. My client is physically in normal range for her age. Based on the growth chart in the ped’s book for her weight she falls in the 75th percentile and her height she is in the 25thpercentile. She had a slim physique and no appearance of nutritional deficiencies. Skin appeared smooth, hair looks lustrous and strong, and mucous membranes appeared pick and moist. She was casually groomed in school clothing.

The purpose of this visit was to initiate therapy to resolve the cycle of conflict between the child and mother. My client is very hyper and instigates conflict with her mother. Because of her low self esteem she does not want to attend school so she is excessively absent. She hits and kicks her mom when she tries to wake her u...

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...-management techniques to increase their own ability to deal with frustration, so that they can respond calmly to their child's behavior.

Children with chronic illnesses live a lifestyle that changes, and different problems that arise, as the child passes through developmental changes up to adulthood. Using knowledge of child development a nurse can recognize regressions in the child’s development and put preventive strategies in place. Nurses can plan and implement therapeutic regimens such as given medicine. Young people with chronic illness and their families are faced with coping with the demands of chronic conditions on a daily basis. Nurses can assist parents with different coping strategies that can be used by parents to minimize impact of diagnosis. For instance, they can provide explanations to parents about diagnosis, and support, and encourage family.