The nurse’s role in the care of a child with inflammatory bowel disease
Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease is a general term for a group of inflammatory conditions that include Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and indeterminate colitis. All these conditions are treatable and, with treatment, most patients are able to lead a normal lifestyle.
Nevertheless, life with IBD does entail certain complications. The periods of remission, alternating with active periods, provide a feeling of health and equality with schoolmates and friends at one moment and feeling unwell and not in harmony with the environment at another. Children can get a feeling that they cannot control their disease and their life – and if they fail to understand these changes, together with their family and friends, it can make it more difficult for them to express their feelings.
A nurse plays an important role when nursing a child with IBD and educating the family about healthcare. This starts upon the first admission to the hospital and lasts throughout the treatment. The nurse seeks to establish an empathic relationship with the child and the parents, discussing with them the disease, its symptoms, possible complications, treatment methods, dietary treatment and a changed lifestyle due to the disease. The nurse also takes part in the implementation of diagnostic and therapeutic tests and procedures that are indispensable when treating children with gastrointestinal disorders. The nurse’s role is an active one, which means that she motivates the child to cooperate in the test. Good implementation of the test largely depends on the professionalism exhibited by the nurse, who should know how to motivate and lead the child through the test. Frequently, this is the most demanding task for the nurse.
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