Nursing care of depressed children

During the past 20 years, depression in children has been increasingly recognized as a disorder with chronic or recurrent course if not identified and treated early enough. However, due to the fact that children are in a developmental stage, the symptoms of depression are not as obvious as in adolescents or adults. Therefore, depression in children can be in many cases undiagnosed. Depression affects children’s psychosocial development, academic performance, and ultimately, mental health as adults. This review focuses on the nursing care of hospitalized depressed children in a psychiatric ward. An extensive literature search was performed on Iatrotek, Medline, CINAHL and Psych Info, using relevant with this review key words. Depression is a serious mental health disorder, particularly in children, that requires early identification and intervention. Psychiatric hospitalization for depressed children is often necessary either when considered therapeutic for their mental state or is determined that their self-destructive behavior is acutely dangerous to themselves. Hospitalized depressed children, experiencing stress or crisis in their lives, often require time to understand and work cognitively through these potentially traumatizing experiences. The key nurse-child therapeutic relationship and a holistic nursing care plan provide children with the opportunity and the means to express depressed thoughts and feelings, facilitating optimal psychological and emotional growth. In addition, provides the opportunity for children to build up their self-esteem and learn new skills to cope with depressed thoughts effectively.