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The work of chronically ill children on a hospital unit
Insights
Chronically ill children perform extensive "work" to manage their hospital stays, including managing their bodies and information. This child
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nursing
- Child Health Management
- Hospital Care Workflows
Background:
- Children with chronic illnesses engage in various activities to cope with their hospitalizations.
- These activities, termed
- Purpose_of_the_Study: [
- Main_Methods: [
- Main_Results: [
- Conclusions: [
- Meta_Description='Explore the unrecognized
- work
- children with chronic illnesses perform in hospitals, highlighting nursing's role in supporting them.
- child's work
- is often overlooked by healthcare professionals.
- Nurses should assess how their actions impact the child's ability to perform this essential work.
- Qualitative observation of chronically ill children in a hospital setting.
- Detailed ethnographical methods to capture the nuances of children's daily activities.
- Analysis of various work categories including food procurement, body work, and information work.
- Identified extensive categories of work performed by children, such as "body work" and "information work."
- Documented that this child's work is rarely acknowledged or valued within the hospital environment.
- Highlighted the significant, yet often invisible, labor children undertake to navigate their illness and treatment.
- Understanding the multifaceted nature of pediatric patient work is crucial for effective care.
- Nurses play a vital role in either facilitating or hindering a child's ability to perform necessary self-management tasks.
- Further research is needed to integrate the recognition of child's work into standard nursing practice and patient support.
- To explore and define the various types of work chronically ill children undertake during hospitalization.
- To understand the recognition and valuation of this child's work within the healthcare environment.
- To prompt nurses to consider their role in the child's work processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore and define the various types of work chronically ill children undertake during hospitalization.
- To understand the recognition and valuation of this child's work within the healthcare environment.
- To prompt nurses to consider their role in the child's work processes.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative observation of chronically ill children in a hospital setting.
- Detailed ethnographical methods to capture the nuances of children's daily activities.
- Analysis of various work categories including food procurement, body work, and information work.
Main Results:
- Identified extensive categories of work performed by children, such as "body work" and "information work."
- Documented that this child's work is rarely acknowledged or valued within the hospital environment.
- Highlighted the significant, yet often invisible, labor children undertake to navigate their illness and treatment.
Conclusions:
- Understanding the multifaceted nature of pediatric patient work is crucial for effective care.
- Nurses play a vital role in either facilitating or hindering a child's ability to perform necessary self-management tasks.
- Further research is needed to integrate the recognition of child's work into standard nursing practice and patient support.
Abstract:
A nurse watches chronically ill children at work on a hospital unit. Food procurement work, body work, composure work, work during an IV procedure, resisting work, personal relations work, sick role work, and information work are among the extensive kinds of work children are observed carrying out. However, the child's work is seldom recognized or valued. Nurses need to evaluate how their own work facilitates or impedes the work of the child.