[Hospitalised child. Ethical and humanitarian aspects in general and clinical pediatrics (author's transl)].
Hospitalised children do not only suffer from their illness but in addition from the separation from parents and home (deprivation). The possibility for daily visiting and, if need be, simultaneous admission of the mother has greatly improved this situation. Painful investigations can be extremely stressful and always cause anxieties if the children first are not adequately informed and prepared in advance, and second are separated form their mothers. Such mistakes can be avoided if a certain person of the ward's staff is put in charge of a particular child, as a rule a nurse as a substitute for the mother. The nurse's role is not restricted to helping the doctor; her task includes establishing a personal relationship to the child. Mostly she is the person who knows the child best, and is therefore the primary contact person. For the wellbeing of the hospitalised child she is of utmost importance. Doctor, nurse, kindergarten teacher and psychologist should regard themselves as a common "therapeutical team", discussing the child's problems together and taking action in close touch with the parents.
D001007:Anxiety; D002648:Child; D002673:Child, Hospitalized; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D008426:Maternal Deprivation; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations
Kind im Krankenhaus--Ethische und humanitäre Fragen in der allgemeinen klinischen Kinderheilkunde.