Child: care, health and development
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Child Care Health Dev · Mar 2009
Anxiety and stress in mothers and fathers in the 24 h after their child's surgery.
Surgery in a paediatric setting stresses children and their parents. Previous studies have focused on children and the preoperative period; however, the 24 h after child surgery are highly stressful for parents as their child is still physically recovering and physician-parent communication is vital. The aims of this study are to investigate the impact of three levels of severity of paediatric surgery on mothers' and fathers' anxiety and stress and to identify factors that contribute to parental anxiety and acute stress symptoms in the first 24 h after child surgery. ⋯ There is a need to take into consideration parental anxiety and distress in the 24 h after child surgery. Parental well-being is related to several characteristics including the severity of child surgery; these aspects should be taken into consideration when interacting with parents in the aftermath of their child's surgery.
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Child Care Health Dev · Jan 2009
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyThe effect of multimodal stimulation and cutaneous application of vegetable oils on neonatal development in preterm infants: a randomized controlled trial.
Preterm newborns admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit are deprived of sensory stimulation. Tactile/kinaesthetic stimulation results in weight gain. Studies involving the cutaneous application of vegetable oils have shown improvement in somatic growth and on skin barrier function. ⋯ The combination of STM and cutaneous application of oils to healthy preterm babies resulted in enhanced weight gain and neurological development, and a shorter stay in hospital.
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Child Care Health Dev · Jan 2009
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyEvaluating family-centred service in paediatric oncology with the measure of processes of care (MPOC-20).
In order to evaluate the family-centeredness of paediatric oncology services, a psychometrically sound measure of family-centred services is needed. We performed a comprehensive evaluation of the psychometric properties of the 20-item Measure of Processes of Care (MPOC-20) in parents of children undergoing treatment for cancer at five paediatric oncology centres in Canada. ⋯ The MPOC-20 is the only evaluated instrument currently available to measure family-centred services in paediatric oncology. Paediatric cancer programmes can now use this tool to determine parental perception of the extent to which services are family-centred.
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Child Care Health Dev · Nov 2008
Multicenter StudyWhat can we learn from the experiences of consultants around the time of a child's death?
To describe how paediatric consultants report dealing with child and neonatal deaths as part of their daily work. ⋯ We can learn much from the experiences of consultants around the time of a child's death. Their approach during resuscitation and withdrawal or withholding life sustaining treatment describes many strategies that have been developed to ease the often complex decision-making process. Although consultants have built up personal support networks and individual coping strategies many recognize that these are not all encompassing and some harbour unresolved feelings of grief. Enabling health professionals to genuinely care, 'giving oneself totally yet preserving oneself totally' remains a challenge.
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In the Netherlands, bicycle helmet wearing rates are very low and perceived social barriers to helmet use are important. We aimed to determine why Dutch paediatricians do or do not wear helmets while bicycling and whether their personal behaviour is influencing their position about the promotion of helmet use. ⋯ Our results indicate that among Dutch paediatricians, cycling rate is high and helmet wearing rate is very low and that they experience numerous personal barriers to bicycle helmet use. This might explain why bicycle helmet promotion campaigns are scarcely supported by Dutch paediatricians.