NRS-434 Week 1 Environmental Factors and Health Promotion Presentation

Environmental Factors and Health Promotion Presentation; Accident Prevention and Safety Promotion for Parents and Caregivers of Infants

  • Infant health and wellbeing is an essential goal of the public health system
  • The health and wee-being of infants below age two are most affected by various environmental hazards
  • Various health behaviors and factors affect the health and safety of infants
  • Infants should therefore be protected from environmental hazards that affect their health and wellbeing
  • There is, therefore, a need for health promotion plans aiming at teaching parents and caregivers about these factors, giving recommendations for accident prevention and safety promotion    

Environmental factor

  • The environmental factor that will be discussed is hygiene and Sanitation
  • Hygiene is the behavior that contributes to cleanliness, leading to good health for the infant and the caregiver (CDC.gov n.d.)
  • Hygiene practices for infants include bathing, skin care, and changing diapers 
  • Sanitation includes facilities, services, and behavior that helps prevent diseases caused by contact with human waste
  • Sanitation includes solid waste management, drainage, excrete, and wastewater management. 
  • Poor Sanitation and hygiene is an environmental factor that exposes the infant to the risk 

Effect of Sanitation and Hygiene on Infants’ Health and Safety

  • Infants below the age of two have weaker immune systems since their immune systems are not yet developed
  • They are therefore prone to the risk of infections caused by poor Sanitation and poor hygiene practices
  • Due to the weak immune systems, infections such as diarrhea and malaria, caused by poor Sanitation and poor hygiene, easily cause infant mortality
  • Poor hygiene and Sanitation are also associated with the transmission of diarrhoeal illnesses such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid, and intestinal worm infections in infants.
  • Exposure of children to unsanitary living conditions enhances disease infection and affects their nutritional status and growth (He et al., 2018).

Caregivers/Target Audience and Situation

  • The target audience includes parents and caregivers of infants below the age of two
  • The parents and caregivers are from a low-level socioeconomic background 
  • infants from Low-level socioeconomic backgrounds are at a high-risk health problems resulting from poor Sanitation and hygiene (Prüss-Ustün et al., 2019)   
  • The target audience is a group of parents and caregivers living in a small town where children have recorded a high prevalence of diarrhoeal conditions
  • The infants have also recorded a high mortality rate and stunted growth
  • Their literacy level is at least grade 8  

Proposed Health Promotion Plan

  • The proposed health promotion plan involves teaching the caregivers about Water, Sanitation, and hygiene. It will also explore; 
  • The impact of Sanitation and hygiene on infant health and safety
  • Practices to improve Sanitation and hygiene
  • Personal hygiene practices/ infant hygiene
  • Teach good sanitation practices 

Recommendations for Accident Prevention and Safety Promotion on Sanitation and Hygiene in Relation to the Health and Safety of Infants

  • Accidents are a significant cause of injuries and deaths among infants
  • Common home accidents for infants include choking, poisoning, falls, burns, suffocating, and drowning
  • Infants getting into contact with solid waste, human waste, wastewater, and excreted water may cause accidents and possible infections
  • Children should always be under supervision to prevent them from accessing solid waste and wastewater
  • Proper human waste, solid waste, and wastewater management is an accident prevention strategy that is recommended for the community level 
  • Maintaining a safe and clean home environment also helps prevent accidents and promotes the safety of infants (Chirgwin et al., 2021)     

Evidence-based Examples, Interventions, and Suggestions that Promote hygiene and Sanitation for infants

  • Among the evidence-based interventions for promoting hygiene and Sanitation for infants include educating the parents and caregivers on best hygiene and sanitation practices (Haque and Freeman, 2021)
  • Best practices examples for infant hygiene include;
  • Washing of hands before holding the baby
  • Ensuring that the home environment is always clean 
  • Ensuring that everything the baby uses or can access is clean  
  • Other hygiene interventions include soap distribution and making hygiene kits accessible for parents and caregivers from low socioeconomic backgrounds
  • Sanitation interventions include latrines provision to enhance proper human waste management, solid waste management, and proper wastewater and drainage management (Als et al., 2020) 

Community Resources that Facilitate Sanitation and Hygiene

  • Community resources that facilitate Sanitation and hygiene include;
  • Local community cleaning programs
  • Community-based organizations that teach community members the importance of Sanitation and hygiene  

National Resource that facilitates Sanitation and Hygiene

  • National resources on Sanitation and hygiene include:
  • The Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program 
  • The program ensures communities get access to clean water
  • The program also teaches community members good hygiene practices

Web-based Resource on Sanitation and Hygiene

  • The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is a web-based resource that has information on proper hygiene and Sanitation
  • The resource recommends evidence-based and best practices for hygiene and Sanitation
  • Information from this source is accessible to all since it is a free government resource 

Conclusion

  • Infants are usually a high-risk health population
  • They are easily infected by diseases and conditions resulting from various environmental factors due to their weaker immune systems
  • Sanitation and hygiene is a major environmental factor that impacts the health and wellness of infants
  • Infants should be prevented from accidents and environmental risks, thus promoting their health and safety
  • Health promotion plans should be implemented for parents and caregivers, especially those from low-level socioeconomic backgrounds, to improve infant health, safety, and wellness
  • Local, national, and web-based resources that are available for the caregivers should be utilized to promote hygiene and proper Sanitation      

References

Als, D., Meteke, S., Stefopulos, M., Gaffey, M. F., Kamali, M., Munyuzangabo, M., Shah, S., Jain, R. P., Radhakrishnan, A., Siddiqui, F. J., Ataullahjan, A., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2020). Delivering water, sanitation and hygiene interventions to women and children in conflict settings: a systematic review. BMJ global health, 5(Suppl 1), e002064. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2019-002064

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d.) Water, Sanitation and Environmentally Related Hygiene. Accessed on August 17, 2022. Accessed from https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/index.html

Chirgwin, H., Cairncross, S., Zehra, D., & Sharma Waddington, H. (2021). Interventions promoting the uptake of water, Sanitation and hygiene (WASH) technologies in low‐and middle‐income countries: An evidence and gap map of effectiveness studies. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 17(4), e1194. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1194

Haque, S. S., & Freeman, M. C. (2021). The applications of implementation science in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) research and practice. Environmental health perspectives, 129(6), 065002. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7762

He, Z., Bishwajit, G., Zou, D., Yaya, S., Cheng, Z., & Zhou, Y. (2018). Burden of Common Childhood Diseases in Relation to Improved Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) among Nigerian Children. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(6), 1241. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15061241

HealthyChildren.org (n.d.) Safety for your Child. 0-6months. Accessed on August 16, 2022. Accessed from https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Safety-for-Your-Child-6-to-12-Months.aspx

Prüss-Ustün, A., Wolf, J., Bartram, J., Clasen, T., Cumming, O., Freeman, M. C., Gordon, B., Hunter, P., R., Medlicott, K. & Johnston, R. (2019). Burden of disease from inadequate water, Sanitation, and hygiene for selected adverse health outcomes: an updated analysis with a focus on low-and middle-income countries. International journal of hygiene and environmental health, 222(5), 765-777. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.05.004

NRS-434 Week 1 Environmental Factors and Health Promotion Presentation

WEEK 2 NRS-434VN-O505 Developmental Assessment and the School-Aged Child

The needs of the pediatric patient differ depending on age, as do the stages of development and the expected assessment findings for each stage. In a 500-750-word paper, examine the needs of a school-aged child between the ages of 5 and 12 years old and discuss the following:

  1. Compare the physical assessments among school-aged children. Describe how you would modify assessment techniques to match the age and developmental stage of the child.
  2. Choose a child between the ages of 5 and 12 years old. Identify the age of the child and describe the typical developmental stages of children that age.
  3. Applying developmental theory based on Erickson, Piaget, or Kohlberg, explain how you would developmentally assess the child. Include how you would offer explanations during the assessment, strategies you would use to gain cooperation, and potential findings from the assessment.

Developmental Assessment and the School-Aged Child Example

Developmental assessment is meant to evaluate a child’s physical and psychosocial developmental milestones based on the child’s age and the milestones required from children of that particular age. Developmental assessments also help identify developmental disorders early and thus help plan management interventions (Coscini et al., 2022).

Pediatric patients of different ages have different health needs depending on their ages. The assessment done on pediatric patients also differs; thus, the nurses must have the assessment techniques that suit the age of the child being assessed. This essay examines the needs of a school-aged child between the age of 5 and 12. A comparison of the physical assessments among school-aged children, assessment techniques, the typical developmental stages of an 8-year-old, and the application of Piaget’s developmental theory to assess the child will be discussed.

Physical assessment for school children of different ages may differ. Comparing the assessment of a 5-year-old to that of a 12-year-old child will require different assessment techniques. The 5-year-old may not have information on their health history, thus requiring the presence of a parent or caregiver, while the 12-year-old may give all the responses required. The patient’s needs differ in age. Thus, the assessment technique should be modeled in consideration of these needs.

For instance, a physical assessment of the 12-year-old may require privacy, while a physical assessment of the 5-year-old may be done when the parent is present. Physical assessment of the 5-year-old may include acceptable motor skills assessment and shedding of deciduous teeth, while assessing a 12-year-old may include evaluating whether puberty onset is occurring. However, the assessments for both ages may also have some similarities. For example, both assessments require a physical examination.

The developmental stages and milestones of children depend on age. The typical developmental stages that an 8-year-old should have achieved include language, cognitive, sensory, motor, physical, and social/emotional development (Malik & Marwaha, 2018).

A child at this age will develop complex language skills such as pronunciation. They will be more physically active doing physical activities such as jumping and skipping, have begun to make social friends, and are learning to cooperate and feel comfortable in a group. If the child’s language, emotions, thinking, movement, and behavior meet these developmental milestones, the child is said to be developing as expected.

Various developmental theories exist to explain the developmental stages human beings go through and guide developmental assessments at various levels. Jean Piaget developed a cognitive development theory that explains children’s cognitive development from birth to 12 years (Sangyhi, 2020). Based on the theory, cognitive development occurs in four stages: the sensorimotor stage occurs from 0-2 years, the preoperational stage occurs from 2-7 years, the concrete operational stage occurs from 7-11 years, and the formal operational stage occurs at 12 years.

School-aged children fall at the preoperational stage and transit to the concrete and formal operational stages. In this case, for the 8-year-old, who is at the concrete operational stage, the assessment should focus on the ability of the child to use logical reasoning and solve concrete problems. The developmental milestones of this stage are the ability to use reasoning and logic and solve complex problems.

The strategies I would use to ensure maximum cooperation from the child during the assessment include being friendly, ensuring the assessment environment is child-friendly, and allowing the child to be accompanied by a parent or caregiver to prevent them from fearing me. According to Rose et al. (2018), making the assessment environment child-friendly enhances the child’s cooperation.

I would also ensure I offer explanations to the child and the parent where necessary, consider the child’s level of understanding in acquiring the assessment results and ensure nothing is left out. The potential findings of the assessment include the ability to use logic and the child can solve concrete problems.

A child’s developmental stage is an essential factor to consider when developing the appropriate techniques for developmental assessments. Assessing a child’s development against the standard developmental milestones enables the care provider to identify any deviations and plan interventions to correct them. Maximum cooperation from the child should be encouraged.

References

Coscini, N., Heyes, P., Bedford, H., Cohen, E., D’Aprano, A., Goldfeld, S., Hargreaves, D., Loveday, S., Nejat, S., Roberts., Saradi, A., Saunders, N. R., Woolfenden, S. & Milner, K. (2022). Multicountry review: developmental surveillance, assessment, and care by outpatient pediatricians. Archives of Disease in Childhood. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2021-322799

Malik, F., & Marwaha, R. (2018). Developmental stages of social-emotional development in children. Retrieved from https://europepmc.org/article/PMID:30521240

Rose, E., Lehrl, S., Ebert, S., & Weinert, S. (2018). Long-term relations between children’s language, the home literacy environment, and socioemotional development from ages 3 to 8. Early Education and Development, 29(3), 342-356. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2017.1409096

Sanghvi, P. (2020). Piaget’s theory of cognitive development: a review. Indian Journal of Mental Health, 7(2), 90–96. https://indianmentalhealth.com/2020/vol7-issue2/5-Review-Article_Piagets-theory

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