1 results
36 - Nursing care
- from Part IV - Complications and supportive care
-
- By Pamela S. Hinds, Member and Director, Division of Nursing Research, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA, Jami S. Gattuso, Nursing Research Specialist, Division of Nursing Research, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA, Belinda N. Mandrell, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Patient Care Services, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
- Edited by Ching-Hon Pui
-
- Book:
- Childhood Leukemias
- Published online:
- 01 July 2010
- Print publication:
- 02 February 2006, pp 882-893
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
Introduction
In the treatment of children and adolescents with leukemia, nursing care complements and extends the efforts of other members of the health-care team. The focus of nursing care is on the long-term as well as immediate needs of patients and their families, and thus includes strategies to prevent or manage complications and sequelae of the disease and its treatment. Another integral aspect of nursing care is assisting individual patients and families in achieving their developmental goals during the period of treatment and follow-up.
In this chapter, rather than describing the challenges of pediatric oncology nursing or detailing practice recommendations specific to the care of young patients with leukemia, we provide a framework within which these aspects can be addressed and apply this framework to several practice examples. This framework includes three levels of environment and seven possible treatment phases. The relationships between nursing strategies and both the level of environment and the phase of care are illustrated in examples of several major concerns that can arise in the treatment of childhood leukemia. For convenience, we have based our examples primarily on the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but the same principles apply to other leukemias in children. Whenever possible, we have focused on the results of nursing research and their application to practice.
An environmental model
The nursing care of a child or adolescent with leukemia extends beyond a set of symptoms or specific treatment and disease-related events.