pediatric history

1. History, philosophy
and principles of
child health nursing
By
Janaki Pradhan

2. Objectives
 Introduction to child health nurse
 Goals of child health
 History of child health nurse
 Philosophy of child health nurse
 Principles of child health nurse
 Roles of child health nurse

3. Introduction
 Term derived from greek word
 Pedia – child
 Iatrike – branch of science
 Pediatric nursing is the “ practice of nursing with children,
youths aand their families across the health continuum,
including health promotion, illness management, and health
restoration “
Benkele

4. Paediatric Nursing
 Paediatric nursing is the specialized area of
nursing practise concerning the care of
children during wellness and illness, which
include preventive, promotive, curative
and rehabilitative care of children.

5. Pediatric nursing practise is
concerned with
 Well being of the children towards optimal functioning.
 Integration of developmental needs of the children into
nursing care with holistic approach.
 Integration of scientific principles and theory related to
child health into nursing practise.
 Delivering care to family-child unit.
 Interdisciplinary team approach.
 Focusing on ethical, moral and legal problems regarding
child care.

6. Historical Perspective:
 The modern child care is part of a great historical pageantry that
involved cultures of many people present child health nurse should
know something of the part to appreciate the present fully.

7. Pre Historic Time(Before 3000 BC)
 In early civilization of Egypt, China, India
children were reared according to tradition
passed down from previous generation.
 Combination of indigenous system of
medicine and magic.
 Diet, rithual, magic and herbs.
 In India, Kasayapa tantra written in BC had a
chaper on koumara maritya this is 1st record
of pediatric anywhere in the world.

8. Renaissance and early modern world(1350-
1800 AD)
 Renaissance brought tremendous changes in the
course of human life.
 In 16th century 2 great medical books were
published
 The book of children by Thomas Phare
 The children’s book by Felix Wurtz in Germany.
 They found there were a lot of hazardous practises
in feeding, clothing and rearing. Rarely infants were
breastfed, instead infant received different types of
soups and sugar solutions or water.

9.  In 1748, William Cadogans eassy on
nursing called attention to unhealthy
childcare practises and identified
overdressing, over feeding and poor
diet as contributing factors or
childhood illness.
 Abraham Jacobi(1830-1919) the
father of pediatrics started pediatric
department in several New York
Hospital and was one of the founder
of American pediatric society.

10. History of pediatric nursing
 Before pediatrics became a
specialty, newborns were
delivered by midwives and
cared for in the home
 The first pediatric hospital was
the Children’s Hospital of
Pennsylvania, founded in 1855.

11. As early hospitals became more industrialized, the
following were commonplace practices in infant and child
care:
 Nursing care was geared toward preventing the
spread of infectious disease.
 Parents were unable to visit or stay at the
bedside of their children, and relinquished all
care responsibility to the staff.
 Including the family in the plan of care was
believed to be detrimental to patient outcomes.
 The emotional and psychological needs of
children were not considered in care planning.

12.  In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, nurses
became involved in many public and private health
promotion initiatives, including the care of children
 As the field of pediatric nursing progressed, efforts
were made to improve nursing education.
 In 1917, the “Standard Curriculum for Schools of
Nursing” stated that classes on pediatric nursing were
to include lectures on infant feeding child development
to give a good sound basis for later work in connection
with milk depots [breast milk donation sites], baby
welfare, school-nursing and other fields of work where
knowledge and skill in children’s nursing are of
essential importance” (Taylor, 2006).

13.  Research conducted in the mid-20th
century indicated the negative
effects of separating parent from
child, resulting in a subsequent push
toward more family-centered care.
 The early field of pediatric nursing
influenced the later development of
advanced practice roles (e.g.,
neonatal nurse practitioner,
pediatric nurse practitioner).
 Pediatric nurse practitioners were
the first nurse practitioners.

14. In the later half of the 20th century, the
nursing profession continued to define itself
through:
 Development and publication of
professional standards of practice
 Availability of certification programs
 Formation of professional organizations
 Continued nursing research
 Continued educational opportunities

15.  In India, pediatric nursing was not given due
recognition in syllabi in the earlier periods of
nursing training but with the introduction of
under graduate degree programme in nursing in
Madras university CMC Vellore, RAK Delhi.
 Pediatric nursing as a course was introduced
date back from 1950’s.
 In present INC syllabus for all types of
undergraduate gives due weightage to
pediatric nursing as speciality.