Pediatric nursing
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Evidence of improved quality of life with pediatric palliative care.
Pediatric nurses provide holistic family-centered care for children with life-limiting illnesses while being sensitive to children's growth and developmental needs. To learn how pediatric palliative care programs benefit children and their families, the following clinical question was asked: Among children with a life-limiting illness, does the use of a palliative care program compared with not using a palliative care program improve quality of life for patients and their families? Evidence from two studies found that palliative care services improve quality of life for children with life-limiting illness and their families in the areas of the child's emotional well-being and parental perception of preparation for the child's end of life, resulting in a low grade for the body of evidence. ⋯ A reliable tool is needed that includes a spiritual component and sensitive indicators specific to children with a life-limiting illness. Future research using this tool will more fully answer how palliative care services improve children's quality of life.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
A sugar-coated pacifier reduces procedural pain in newborns.
To examine the efficacy of pacifiers and sugar, alone and in combination, for pain management in neonates. ⋯ Offering a sugar coated pacifier during heelstick in healthy neonates reduces pain behaviors more effectively than a water-moistened pacifier, 2 cc of a 12% sucrose solution, or no intervention.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Reducing one source of pediatric head injuries.
Evaluation of a school-based, bicycle helmet program was conducted using the PRECEDE model. The intervention targeted schools with low income, high minority, and nonurban fourth grade children. ⋯ Following the intervention, between 34% and 98% of intervention students reported helmet use, with the best results reported in schools with parental contact. This educational intervention coupled with the provision of bicycle helmets increased reported helmet use, especially when parental contact was added.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The COPE program: a strategy to improve outcomes of critically ill young children and their parents.
Critically ill young children and their parents are subjected to multiple stressors during hospitalization, which may predispose them to short- and long-term negative outcomes. Nurses who care for children who are critically ill and their families during and following their intensive care unit stay must be knowledgeable of the impact of a child's critical illness on the family and factors influencing adjustment to the stressful experience. Knowledge of these issues is essential in planning effective intervention strategies to enhance coping outcomes in this population. This article (a) discusses how young children and their parents are affected by critical illness; (b) outlines major sources of stress for families; (c) identifies factors influencing coping outcomes; and (d) describes the COPE program, a newly devised early intervention program for critically ill young children and their parents.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Therapeutic play for hospitalized preschoolers in Lebanon.
Therapeutic play in the form of an interactive puppet show was administered to 50 preschool children one day before surgery in a hospital in Lebanon. A control group of 50 preschool children received routine care but no therapeutic play. Physiological and behavioral measures were assessed on admission, at the time of a stressful procedure (preoperative injection), after surgery, and after discharge. ⋯ Following surgery, the experimental group took less time to void their bladders, another physiological indication of lower stress level. After hospital discharge, the children who had received therapeutic play had significantly lower scores on all six factors of the Post Hospital Behavior Questionnaire. This study demonstrates that therapeutic play is a valid means of reducing stressful responses to hospitalization and surgery among children in Lebanon.