Pertinent Issues Affecting Young Children Essay Paper

Introduction

Neglect and abuse are pertinent issues affecting young children, irrespective of their age, religious beliefs, ethnicity, and social background. Abuse caused to children can be perpetrated by strangers or even close ones, involving one or multiple adults (Bellis et al., 2019). The “National Institute of Health and care excellence” publishes guidelines to support health and social care practitioners in the efficient recognition of abuse and integration of correct response, interventions and care (Dziedzic & Allen, 2018). Spotting signs of abuse in any scenario is crucial for the significant formulation of health assessments and donating productive assistance to reduce the risk intensity for concerned children. Noticing the symptoms of child injury can help professionals to spread awareness, and assess the risk and need levels. It will also create effective interventions and support the victim and their families (Giano et al., 2020). The essay would encompass a detailed description of Jack’s physical assessment to recognize the signs of abuse inflicted on him. It would also highlight the responsibilities of the nurse in terms of making reporting decisions to indicate concerns. Lastly, the essay would observe the physical, psychological and developmental consequences of adverse childhood experiences like abuse on the long-term development and health of Jack Pertinent Issues Affecting Young Children Essay Paper.

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Discussion

Young children are specifically vulnerable to injuries when caregivers tend to physically restrain, assault or try to discipline them. General practitioners should be possessing the necessary skills in recognizing the pertinent physical signs correctly. Non-accidental injuries result from deliberate forms of action from an individual (Graiek et al., 2021). It can happen out of zero intention of the perpetrator to cause the injury but can lead to significant tissue damage through carelessness, neglect and poorly made decisions. Jack’s physical symptoms included the presence of a fracture in the right femur bone. There has been an indication of noticeable bruising and swelling in the site of fracture. Several oval-shaped bruises also have been found around his ankle and the left-ear.

Accidental cases of bruises are common childhood injuries that result from bumps or falls. Inflicted bruising arises out of maltreatment. The objectivity of the involved intention cannot necessarily be determined through medical assessments (Hibberd et al., 2017).

While evaluating the bruises in jack’s case, the identification of the bruises to be true lesions should be assessed by a nurse. The presence of inflammation and skin discolouration suggestively implies Jack to be negatively affected with an injury. The likelihood for babies having bruises is linked to their level of mobility. The risk of harm from fractures for episodes of maltreatment represents manifestations of coagulopathy. It would be suspicious for a non-mobile child to have bruises and the conditions of blood clots. Unexplained bruising needs to be interrogated as it would raise substantial concern (Sciaraffa et al., 2018). Another scenario has been observed in Jack’s case where he has small oval-shaped injuries on relatively protected parts of the body like the left ear and ankles. The shapes of the bruises are similar which can suggest non-accidental causes.

Although fractures can commonly appear in childhood, the formation of some fractures and their relative patterns remain commonly attributed to forms of abuse, instead of accidents. Fractures of longer bone metaphysis more commonly appear due to abuse, as non-accidental forms of injury happen in the shafts or diaphysis (Ghanem et al., 2018). Jack’s femoral fracture also shows different phases of healing through the appearance of swelling and is multiple, bilateral in nature, increasing the chances of it being the non-accidental type.

Protective concerns for a child can entail when nurses receive disclosure from a child through observed indicators and gain awareness of community involvement for enhancing professional roles and information regarding the substantial forms of harm (Harding et al., 2019) Pertinent Issues Affecting Young Children Essay Paper.  On ensuring trust in one’s observations, the concerns should be communicated promptly to child welfare units and authorities. Failure in recognizing physical abuse can lead to the predisposition of more dangerous injuries, that might go unnoticed (Witt et al., 2019). Nurses should carefully record their observations at every stage, follow protocols appropriately, consult notes and factual records, and consult with colleagues and support agencies whenever deemed to be necessary.

The nurse must respond to Jack’s condition after properly assessing his wounds. The level of immediate danger to the child should be assessed. Nurses need to self-interrogate themselves regarding their confidence in placing the claim of abuse. The nurse happens to doubt the intention of the parents when Candice gives vague statements regarding the child’s injuries. Her statement of the child suffering a fall sounds incorrect as that would have an impact on cranial bones and other exposed parts of the body. Also, the tonality in speaking about a three-month-old baby so casually should necessitate suspicion. There also had been a notable delay in seeking effective medical treatment and therapy. It is at this stage that the nurse would doubt the abilities of Jack’s parents to protect the child. The nurse should be calling the nearest local “child FIRST” or “child Protection” providers (WHO, 2018). It is imperative that the nurse would have to keep factual details, notes, points of consideration, familial interactions ready when she places child wellbeing referral (Hockenberry & Wilson, 2018). She would have to responsibly comment on the series of events and observations and rely on the inferences she drew while noting the incidence of injuries. The report should be made to child protection by contacting the intake provider directly or immediately when grave concerns are reported. Jack’s tender age does not allow him to file complaints but be inflicted by fatal signs of abuse. If the perpetrator, most likely the parents started showing distinct disapproval or indifference regarding the condition of the child or used force to give direct proof, the nursing practitioner could place direct reports of the condition. However, in this case, the congeniality of the scenario would make the nurse initially make referrals to the child’s FIRST provider for the Child’s well-being (Nguyen & Hart, 2018). Making a mandatory protection report would make her contact “After Hours Child Protection” by dialling the emergency services number Pertinent Issues Affecting Young Children Essay Paper.

Adverse forms of events can include inflicting episodes of harm to a child, like domestic violence, exposure to community violence, sexual or physical abuse, events involving deprivation of social advantages like neglect, limited availability of caregivers, and inaccessibility to food and poverty. Forms of injury can occur in children for causes of bullying, domestic abuse, and sexual exploitation, once or recurrently multiple times.  When children go through difficult circumstances in their childhood, the traumatic experience prevails throughout their lifetime. Commonly observed psychopathological forms include anxiety, aggressive behaviour, depression, substance abuse and PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder (Laupacis et al., 2022).  Toxic stress from ACEs can also alter brain development and change how the body responds to stress. The lasting vulnerability happens to persist throughout adulthood (Bartlett & Sacks, 2019). This section would demonstrate the impact of a physical, psychological and developmental impact of the adverse event that occurred in Jack’s case.

Adverse childhood events and experiences are predominantly traumatic events and societal problems playing a role in creating risks for physical health issues across the lifetime of the concerned individual (Deighton et al., 2018). Jack would be unable to function as his life progresses, due to the pertinent leg impairment. It will substantially limit his activities in future. His physical disposition would be altered tremendously if the thigh bone is not treated and if complete recovery does not occur. People succumbing to physical limitations can seldom have access to a normally functioning lifestyle (Sugimoto et al., 2018). Jack has the chance of being immobile to an extent, throughout his lifetime, if his femoral fracture is not immediately attended to. Kids usually observe the world differently from adults and can experience distress from issues that might not be so scary. It would be a sheer fortune if efficient medical professionals cater to Jack’s needs when there is time for improvement or remedy. Individuals having broken bones, mostly towards the body’s centre including the upper leg, upper arm or pelvis face greater risks of severe medical conditions (Holick et al., 2017). People with broken bones at these proximal sites tend to have a 1.5-4-fold increased risk of death. Jack’s long bone fracture would have a significant impact on his life as that might prevent him to work normally and meet financial obligations. The managerial treatment of fractures would require considerable expenses for the cost of surgery and imperative rehospitalizations. Surgical orthopaedic interventions should be necessary in Jack’s case. He might not be able to return to healthy living standards as lower limb fractures elucidate greater physical health impacts. Physical immobility also restricts movement and social activity, while highlighting poor strength and limited motor movements (Mueller et al., 2018). The forms of ill-treatment can be tragic occurrences of individuals trying to forcefully inflict harm on them. Jack’s impairment can cause multiple disadvantages through the different stages of his life, starting from his school to a professional workspace that he would be a part of. He would not be able to mingle with his peers and experience forms of social isolation, thereby diminishing his chances of recovery or feeling better. He might have to be on complete assistance by a caregiver for accessing possibilities of movement, and would have to completely rely on his dependence on others Pertinent Issues Affecting Young Children Essay Paper.

Psychologically, it is normal for Jack to develop depressive symptoms like catastrophic thinking, impaired sleep function and pattern. It can also induce loss of appetite. When children remain exposed to deprived early environments, they can experience persistent deficits in cognitive functioning along with executive functions (Maches et al., 2020). Jack’s early environment must have had negligible social stimulation as he has been considered a victim of traumatic abuse in this case. The constraints of learning opportunities from indifferent parents would hamper jack’s cognitive functioning. About 21 million cases of depression are noted in adults to result from traumatic childhood events. Health risk behaviours would include addiction to drinking and smoking while resorting to harmful substances for sanity (John et al., 2019). Jack would be ripped off the chances to intermingle with his peers, family and close ones in social circles as his inability can repel him from attending social gatherings. The elevated emotional responses to stress derived from his “flaws” would create major hindrances in his path to achieving positive outcomes. Anxiety can be markedly aggravated in irregular spurs. Jack can even be conscious regarding the appearance of his affected limb. The chances of mental and physical pain would enhance when he will find his peers to live normal social lives. Depression can adversely impact clinical outcomes too. Studies also suggest patients with untreated childhood trauma have higher glucocorticoid resistance, which is associated with depression (Herzog & Schmahl, 2018). Patients rely on alcohol to cope with prevailing circumstances. Studies suggest a fear revolves around ‘falling’ for dysfunctionalities occurring in neural networks. Children like Jack experiencing adverse effects modify emotional awareness, and expression and utilize maladaptive regulatory strategies of emotion such as rumination. Elevated emotional reactivity, aggression by the subsequent onset of depression would be commonly observed in Jack’s adulthood. It is natural for children to feel devastated when they observe abnormality in the standards of their social functioning. Depression not only halts proper cognitive functioning as children tend to get self-absorbed in their own inhibitions. They have obstructed patterns of thinking and tend to get overtly sensitized for minor issues. Problematic behaviour is displayed as a result, which appears from inherent sadness and pain (Cujipers et al., 2020). Jack can resort to complete isolation or throw fits to socialize with people. In school, he would not be called for social episodes for being physically handicapped and would be treated indifferently by the peers. This can aggravate his mental health issues Pertinent Issues Affecting Young Children Essay Paper.

Adverse childhood experience (ACE) leads to enduring effects on functional and structural characteristics of the “neural stress regulatory circuits”, leading to cognitive impairment or developmental disabilities in some cases (Herzog & Schmahl, 2018). Circuits including the hippocampus, ACC or Amygdala promote modifications in stress sensitivity as well as emotional regulation in later years. The presence of “High-density glucocorticoid receptors” causes higher vulnerability to damage, neurogenesis suppression and dendritic atrophy (Morgart et al.,2021). Jack’s epigenetic mechanisms can also be affected later in his life through histone methylation and modification. Nearly 1 in 6 children, who are 3-17 years of age tend to have a developmental or intellectual disability in the West (Bellis et al., 2019). Maltreatment of children possessing disabilities is higher for the paediatric population where children having behavioural issues are discriminated. The role of trauma in a person’s life gets highlighted for the promotion of resilience and recovery. Diagnostic overshadowing often occurs which is a tendency of attributing behaviours or symptoms of an individual with learning disabilities to emerge from cognition, rather than considering possible environmental and medical conditions (Jameson & Mason, 2019). Jack would be deprived of a balanced life where he can face challenges to maintain relationships, and exhibit symptoms of traumatic stress disorder for the brain architectural alterations caused by stress. Resilience actively helps in adaptive plasticity for stress, and is decreased by brain vulnerability caused by adverse childhood events (Sciaraffa et al., 2018) Pertinent Issues Affecting Young Children Essay Paper.

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Conclusion

If childhood trauma is left untreated, problems are often not resolved in the later years of one’s life. Limiting the possibility of treatment would necessitate the prevalence of long-term health impacts. A child facing abuse should get the opportunity of reducing the risks of depression, cardiac and muscle disorders, suicidal ideation or societal isolation. Patience and support should be implemented for the recovery of children after diagnosis and following medical interventions. The case study presented the scenario of Jack, who has been affected by an abusive incident. The nurse has elucidated evident interventions to suit Jack’s cause and promote the betterment of his adverse situation. The assessment of various long-term physical, psychological and developmental impacts of adverse traumatic episodes would help in developing remedies to aid Jack’s condition.

References

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Ghanem, M. A., Moustafa, T. A., Megahed, H. M., Salama, N., & Ghitani, S. A. (2018). A descriptive study of accidental skeletal injuries and non-accidental skeletal injuries of child maltreatment. Journal of forensic and legal medicine, 54, 14-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2017.12.006

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https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09411-z

Gra?ek, M., Moll, A., & Niwald, A. (2021). Non-accidental injury of vision organ in children. Klinika Oczna/Acta Ophthalmologica Polonica, 123(3), 103-107.

Harding, L., Davison-Fischer, J., Bekaert, S., & Appleton, J. V. (2019). The role of the school nurse in protecting children and young people from maltreatment: An integrative review of the literature. International journal of nursing studies, 92, 60-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2018.12.017

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Hibberd, O., Nuttall, D., Watson, R. E., Watkins, W. J., Kemp, A. M., & Maguire, S. (2017). Childhood bruising distribution observed from eight mechanisms of unintentional injury. Archives of disease in childhood, 102(12), 1103-1109 Pertinent Issues Affecting Young Children Essay Paper