| Last updated on July 31, 2023
When a child has a medical condition that requires IV care, pediatric friendly care is vital to decrease worry, improve patient outcomes, and reduce the stress and fear of caregivers.
Pediatric friendly IV care includes the language healthcare workers use to talk to kids about their vascular access treatment, as well as ensuring the highest standard of care when it comes to the medical devices and vascular access technologies being used.
A chronic illness in children has an impact on their development and wellbeing. We owe it to kids to help them live without fear of infection, and play with as much freedom as possible - even while connected to lines.
In this article you’ll learn:
- What is pediatric friendly IV care?
- Providing pediatric friendly compassionate care
- Using pediatric friendly compassionate devices
- Pediatric friendly begins with compassionate tech
What is pediatric friendly IV care?
Sometimes children and adolescents have medical conditions that require them to have regular IV line placement or a central venous catheter to receive medical treatment.
Even brief medical procedures can be frightening and confusing for children - and ongoing medical issues that require frequent visits to the hospital or lengthy hospital stays can be even more distressing to children and their caregivers.
Medical conditions that require permanent medical devices like central venous catheters can impact children’s lives in and out of the hospital setting.
Chronic medical conditions have an impact on both the emotional wellbeing of children, as well as their social, educational, and physical development.
Kids have enough on their plates without having to worry that they’ll be hurt from the vascular access treatment itself.
Children and their caregivers need the assurance that children can still have play-filled lives despite their medical conditions.
That’s where pediatric friendly care and pediatric friendly technology makes all the difference.
Providing pediatric friendly compassionate care
When working with children who are experiencing an illness or a medical condition, it’s important to talk to them about their illness using child-friendly language.
Chronic medical conditions and frequent care can be traumatic for children.
Medical professionals can make it easier for children to understand and cope with their experiences by using developmentally appropriate language to discuss medical concerns and procedures.
Children, adolescents, and their caregivers may be confused and anxious about the wellbeing of the child.
A child-life approach to working with the children and their caregivers may help decrease fear and anxiety, improve patient outcomes, and enable the child’s family to be involved with the child’s care.
Working with a Child Life Specialist
A certified Child Life Specialist will often help pediatric patients and their caregivers become more comfortable and empowered when it comes to coping with the stress and uncertainty around treatment. Therapeutic play programs where children can touch, feel and experience the medical technologies and devices that will be used on them can provide a sense of agency, while normalizing the steps of the upcoming procedure.
Using pediatric friendly, compassionate devices
Children want to play, run, socialise, snuggle, and live their lives out loud.
When a child struggles with a medical condition that requires regular IV connections or a central line, doing normal kid things can be really hard.
Children can quite literally be tied down by their lines, and when they do move around, caregivers can be left worrying about the chance of infection and bacteria entering line-to-line connections.
Caregivers, kids and medical teams shouldn’t have to worry about infections through IV and central lines. Those lines should be protected to allow peace of mind so that kids can still be kids, even in a hospital setting.
Play and social interaction are pivotal for child health, development, and positive medical outcomes.
With compassionate devices like VALGuard, caregivers can trust that children’s lines are protected so they don’t have to lose out on making meaningful connections with the people they love.
VALGuard helps to protect against hospital acquired infections (HAIs), so that children can still visit with their siblings and other family members.
VALGuard guards the line so that children can engage in much-needed play and play therapy. The lines are protected while pediatric patients move around, even simply to use the washroom.
Children with a central line shouldn’t have to lose out. Protect their health and their relationships with compassionate medical technology. Request a sample of VALGuard today.
Pediatric friendly care begins with compassionate tech
Covalon is dedicated to raising awareness of the many benefits of compassionate and patient-centred care.
Compassionate care:
- is associated with greater patient adherence
- deepens the care provider and patient bond
- reduces healthcare worker burnout
- improves patient outcomes
We’re doing our part to raise awareness and encourage medical and pharmaceutical manufacturers to create medical devices that prioritise compassion.
The next step is to invest in the technology in healthcare settings around the world.
Your youngest patients are the most vulnerable to the experiences they have while they receive medical care for chronic illnesses.
We owe it to them to provide them with the gentlest devices possible in order to improve their outcomes and let them live as kids - despite their illness.
Request free samples of our gentle medical devices here, and let your patients experience the difference with Covalon.
Resources
National Library of Medicine: Development of children with a chronic illness
SickKids: How to talk to children about their illness
Child Life: Evidence based practice
Sick Kids: Child Life at SickKids
UK Government: How play helps children’s development
Nationwide Children’s Hospital: Play therapy in the hospital
National Library of Medicine: Curricula for empathy and compassion training in medical education
National Library of Medicine: How to distress and well-being relate to medical student empathy
Alexandra is a digital marketer who is passionate about bringing awareness of Covalon’s compassionate care solutions to the vulnerable patient populations who need them most.
