Child health nursing is an area of nursing and medical practice with a focus on providing holistic care to infants, children and adolescents. It differs from paediatrics, in that the emphasis in paediatrics is ill-health and the alleviation of symptoms or disease.

One of the major principles of paediatric nursing is the concept of family centred care. Paediatric nurses function to support the family by providing nursing care that the family cannot perform, educating and supporting them to maintain their normal caring activities and actively viewing the parents as partners in the care process.

External links

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• Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in the UK

More on [ Child health nursing ]

Journal of Child Health Care current issue

Taking a deep breath . . . or two ... or three?
Carter, B.
The perceptions and preferences of parents of children with tracheostomies in a study of humidification therapy
McNamara, D. G., Dickinson, A. R., Byrnes, C. A.This article reports a grounded theory study which was the qualitative phase of a randomized-controlled trial in children with tracheostomies comparing two techniques for providing humidified inspired gases. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight mothers of children with tracheostomies recruited from the trial, one mother who was not involved in the trial and four experienced nurses. Data were analysed using open, selective and theoretical coding. A core category was identified of parents managing the child’s care in response to a set of problematic and constraining states. Parents were seen to utilize strategies of constant checking, becoming the expert, the family pulling together and electing to use preferred technology. The findings of this study mirror those of previous studies and reinforce the primacy of caregivers as managers of their child’s health care. Mothers elected to use or not use a given technology within this context, utilizing a process of balancing.
Improving hospital care for young children in the context of HIV/AIDS and poverty
Richter, L., Chandan, U., Rochat, T.Paediatric wards in South African government hospitals are occupied predominantly by children with HIV and AIDS-related illnesses. Although access to anti-retroviral treatment for adults is being scaled up, it is likely to be many years before South Africa achieves anywhere near universal access for children. Currently, most children living with HIV or AIDS are identified only when they become acutely or chronically ill and/or hospitalized, if at all. In the absence of treatment, the stress of caring for ill and hospitalized HIV-positive children often results in emotional withdrawal among both health professionals and caregivers. The demoralizing cycle of repeated admissions, treatment failure and death also affect the quality of the care given to HIV-negative children in over-burdened wards. This article describes the development of simple, low-cost and context-relevant interventions to improve the care environment for young hospitalized children within the context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and poverty.

NPR Topics: Children's Health

Flu Precautions: Making Sense Of CDC Advice
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0500
With swine flu spreading through schools across the U.S., more and more parents need to care for sick kids at home. The CDC has advice on its Web site, but some of it seems tough to follow. Should parents really wear masks and isolate sick children?
Rice Krispies Are No Substitute For Swine Flu Vaccine
Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:52:00 -0500
Kellogg is pulling claims that Rice Krispies and Cocoa Krispies cereals boost kids' immune systems.
Report: U.S. Trails In Infant Mortality
Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0500
A report from the National Center for Health Statistics shows that the U.S. ranked 30th in the world in infant mortality rates, mainly because of a higher rate of pre-term births than most countries in Europe. Analysts say these studies don't take sufficiently into account the U.S. population mix.

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UNICEF: Child health suffers in Gaza and West Bank as.