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Caring for military children in the 21st century
Heather L Johnson1, Catherine G Ling
1The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Graduate School of Nursing, Bethesda, Maryland.
Insights
Military children face unique challenges due to frequent moves and parental deployments, impacting their health. Healthcare providers can support these resilient children using the I CARE strategy for early intervention.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Healthcare
- Military Family Health
- Child Psychology
Background:
- Civilian healthcare professionals deliver a significant portion of care to U.S. military children.
- The health and well-being of military children are recognized as a national security priority.
Purpose of the Study:
- To equip nurse practitioners (NPs) with essential information for caring for contemporary military children.
- To provide current data on military family life, deployment impacts, and children's health-seeking behaviors.
Main Methods:
- A literature review was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycInfo databases.
- The search encompassed publications from 2003 to 2012.
Main Results:
- Military children exhibit both resilience and vulnerability.
- Frequent relocation fosters resilience, while combat deployments elevate risks for abuse, neglect, and attachment issues.
- Children's responses to deployment vary by age, gender, and temperament, with an 11% rise in mental/behavioral health outpatient visits during deployment.
Conclusions:
- Healthcare providers can support military children's physical and mental health by managing expectations.
- The I CARE (Identify, Correlate, Ask, Ready Resources, Encourage) strategy aids in prevention and early resource engagement.
Purpose:
Civilian healthcare professionals provide approximately 2/3 of the healthcare for the 2 million U.S. military children. The President of the United States has made their care and support a top national security priority. The purpose of this article is to arm NPs with information necessary to care for the 21st century military child by providing current data on military family life, deployments, and the impact on children and their health-seeking behaviors.
Data Sources:
Literature collected from sources identified through searches of PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycInfo covering the periods from 2003 to 2012.
Conclusions:
Military children are both resilient and vulnerable. While frequent moves build resilience, combat deployments increase the risk for abuse, neglect, attachment problems, and inadequate coping. The risk is highest right after the service member leaves for deployment and immediately upon return. Children's reactions to deployment differ by age, gender, and individual temperament. There is an 11% increase in outpatient visits for mental or behavioral health issues during deployment.
Implications For Practice:
Healthcare professionals can support the physical and mental health of children by normalizing expectations and using the I CARE (Identify, Correlate, Ask, Ready Resources, Encourage) strategy to facilitate prevention and encourage early engagement with available resources.
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