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Planning a continuum of care in child psychiatric nursing. A collaborative effort
Insights
This guide outlines a continuum of psychiatric care for children, moving from outpatient to inpatient services. Nurse case managers facilitate this progression, enhancing family self-care and ensuring cost-effective, high-quality treatment.
Area of Science:
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Nursing Case Management
- Healthcare Systems
Background:
- Children with psychiatric needs require tailored care across various service levels.
- Effective management is crucial for navigating different treatment intensities.
- Integrating theoretical frameworks can optimize care delivery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe a continuum of psychiatric care for children.
- To guide healthcare providers in delivering sequential, graded services.
- To enhance cost-effectiveness and family self-responsibility in pediatric mental healthcare.
Main Methods:
- Integration of Neuman's systems model, Caplan's primary prevention model, and differential therapeutics.
- Defining goals, criteria, and outcomes for each care level (outpatient, partial hospitalization, inpatient).
- Utilizing nurse case managers to facilitate patient movement along the care continuum.
Main Results:
- A structured framework for pediatric psychiatric care is established.
- Clear pathways for transitioning between care settings are provided.
- Improved quality of care and economic efficiency are facilitated.
Conclusions:
- The continuum of care model supports high-quality, cost-effective psychiatric services for children.
- Nurse case managers play a vital role in optimizing patient flow.
- The model empowers families through enhanced self-care and responsibility.
Abstract:
A guide for providing a continuum of care for children in need of psychiatric services from the least restrictive services (outpatient care), to a moderately restrictive setting (partial hospitalization), to the most restrictive setting (inpatient care) is described. Movement along the continuum is facilitated by the nurse case manager. Concepts from three theoretical frameworks are integrated to define goals, criteria, and expected outcomes for each level of care along the continuum. They are Neuman's (1982) systems model for nursing practice and education, Caplan's (1961) model for primary prevention of mental disorders in children, and Frances, Clarken and Perry's (1984) differential therapeutics. The continuum provides a guide for nurses and other health care providers to achieve high quality care as economically as possible. It also enhances self-care and self-responsibility for families of disturbed children by offering a sequential graded system of care along the health-illness continuum.