Safety and Prevention of Injury in Australian Children and Adolescents - Case Study Example

Report on Safety and Prevention of Injury in Australian Children and Adolescents [Name of the Student] [Name of the University] Report on Safety and Prevention of Injury in Australian Children and Adolescents Purpose The main purpose of this report is to analyse the issues with respect to the prevention of injury in Australian children and specifically, the effectiveness of the intervention of nurses in assessing and preventing the risk of injury in children. Introduction The health issue considered in this report relates to the prevention of injury among Australian children aged between one to 14 years. Children are at a greater risk of sustaining injuries and losing their life as a consequence. Consequently, it is essential to assess the reasons behind their exposure to risks and to evaluate the strategies to avoid them. In this context, this report examines the role of the nursing professionals in intervening, assessing and preventing injury to children, whose age is below 14 years. Background Injuries sustained by children below the age of 12 years has emerged as a national health problem in Australia. Such injuries tend to be a significant problem in the childcare setting. From the information provided by anecdotal and research reports, it becomes evident that such injuries are abrasion, cuts, and scratches resulting from falling down in the playground or indoors. In addition, injuries result from motor vehicle pedestrian injuries and human bites. Thus, the child development centres constitute the best locations to concentrate injury prevention services by nurses. Injury prevention can be minimised, if childcare providers are provided with adequate knowledge regarding injuries [Uli97]. The task of the nurses is to impart this knowledge in conjunction with the skills to evaluate and monitor strategies aimed at preventing injuries. Children and adolescents are at a greater risk of sustaining unintentional childhood injuries. These injuries tend to be the primary cause of death, disabilities, and hospitalisations among them. The proportion of deaths was seen to be as much as 35%, among children aged between one to four years, in the year 2005, and this was attributed to such injuries[Kou09]. In the year 2006, around two million children, in the same age group, had to be treated for unintentional injuries in the emergency departments of hospitals, Since, children attending preschool spend most of their time at home; their home ecology tends to have a major bearing upon their sustaining injuries[Kou09]. These observations, disclose the fact that children of ages between one to four years are prone to injuries in the home environment. Hence, the family members have to be properly educated regarding the risks that children are exposed to in the home environment. This would prevent the exposure of children to the risk of injury, to a considerable extent. Discussion The most commonplace cause of death among Australian children, less than 14 years of age, and the second most common cause for hospitalisation of such children is injury. Accidental injuries take the life of around 300 children every year. The majority of these tragic incidents are due to transport accidents, falls and drowning. Moreover, the hospitalisation of children can usually be attributed to cuts, falls, choking, dog bites, transport accidents, poisoning and burns[Sta12]. One of the better – established strategies for diminishing injuries to children, in the home environment has been that of home visits by nurses and other health visitors. This has been disclosed by several reviews of controlled trials. The principal advantage of such interventions is that the parents are enlightened about the risks to their children in the home environment. Moreover, these parents are provided with specific guidance relating to protective behaviour, some instances of this being first aid, supervision, and hazard reduction[Sta12]. The nursing staff of the tertiary paediatric hospital identified 37 research priorities, with regard to the categories of children, families, and health promotion. In the context of two issues, there was a clear consensus. These issues were strategies to decrease the incidence of medication and pain management. The extensive range of pædiatric nursing practice was illustrated by the considerable variation of items that were recommended as areas of research[Wil10]. In addition to addressing the acute care necessary for children in the context of the family, nurses addressed features of primary health care to promote the development of the healthy child. This was with regard to empowering, enabling and improving the capability of families to provide childcare to their offspring[Wil10]. It has been shown in several research studies that nurses in tertiary referral hospitals for children in Western Australia were seized with the wellbeing and safety of care of children and their family. These nurses were particularly concerned about the long – term patients[Wil10]. This preoccupation with the long – term patients depicts the presence of several unresolved issues. These issues are envisaged during prolonged confinement to a hospital. In addition, several social and psychological consequences, associated with long – term hospital stay, affect the functioning of the family unit and the development of the child[Wil10]. On allowing nurses to participate in the identification of research areas that would inform their practice, they tend to emerge as moderators of change in the research culture of the organisation. Another benefit provided by this initiative is that it permits the identification of collaborative research and development. Such research is in the area of procedures that are aimed at improving pain management[Wil10]. The nurse practitioner enacts a dynamic and flexible role. Whilst doing so, these practitioners respond to the demands of patient services, and the identified lacunæ in the provision of service. The role of the emergency nurse practitioner has emerged as a well – established model of care. This model of care has become firmly entrenched in the emergency department of Victoria. The 22 emergency nurse practitioners of Victoria constitute around 40% of the total nurse practitioners of this region[Gra10]. This model of care has been accorded a high level of appreciation and satisfaction, at the international level. It is the general observation that nurses working in the emergency and pædiatric departments enjoy a very high degree of interaction with children. As a consequence, they are best suited to detect and report instances of child abuse. All the same, the available evidence forces one to the conclusion that nurses in Australia tend to face a number of difficulties with regard to their obligatory role as notifiers. Several factors affect this unwelcome outcome. Some of these are institutional guidelines, threats to therapeutic relationships, and the consequences and outcomes of making such reports[Nay05]. After having to envisage several issues, South Australia decided to introduce neonatal nurse practitioners. A genuine and ever increasing need for attracting, developing and retaining skilled neonatal nurses had been felt over the past few years. With an increase in the average age of nurses, the necessity to provide incentives and opportunities to induce young nurses to undertake a career in neonatal care has become indispensable[Hus08]. Children with cerebral palsy require special care, as they tend to develop additional clinical problems. In this regard, neonatal nurses have the opportunity to enact a significant role that ensures minimisation of clinical complications. Moreover, they are best suited to provide support and encouragement to the parents of these children. Such encouragement and support tends to be crucial, during the acute stage of that child’s care[Nur10]. In addition, the ABS National Health Survey of 2004 to 2005 has provided some important information. According to this report, those belonging to the age group of less than 14 years were most likely to sustain a recent injury. The reported prevalence of injuries for this age group was 25%[Aus06]. This propensity to sustain injury reduces with increasing age, and become 10% with respect to individuals aged 65 years and above. Around 47% of those belonging to the 0 – 14 years age group and who had been injured, had an open wound. Moreover, bruising was prevalent to the extent of 37% among the members of this age group[Aus06]. Conclusion This report suggests that the intervention of the nursing professionals by adopting strategies to decrease the incidence of injury prevention among children is effective. Visits by nursing professionals help the childcare providers to minimise the risk of injury through acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills for preventing injuries in children. In addition, these interventions by the nursing professionals enable families to identify and evaluate the risk of injury to their children in the home environment. As such, children will be safeguarded by their family from exposing themselves to the risk of injury in the home environment. Thus, the role of the nursing professionals is invaluable and indispensable in preventing the risk of injury to children in Australia. References Uli97: , (Ulione & Dooling, 1997, p. 111), Kou09: , (Koulouglioti, Cole, & Kitzman, 2009, p. 517), Sta12: , (State of Victoria , 2012), Wil10: , (Wilson, Ramelet, & Zuiderduyn, 2010, p. 1927), Gra10: , (Grainne, 2010, p. 75), Nay05: , (Nayda, 2005, p. 27), Hus08: , (Hussey, 2008, p. 47), Nur10: , (Nurse & Parkes, 2010, p. 219), Aus06: , (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006), Read More