NRNP 6665 WEEK 5 Assignment: Patient Education for Children and Adolescents Essay

NRNP 6665 WEEK 5 Assignment: Patient Education for Children and Adolescents Essay

NRNP 6665 WEEK 5 Assignment: Patient Education for Children and Adolescents Essay

Anxiety disorder is a mental disorder that causes fear, worry, and a persistent feeling of being overwhelmed. The worry or fear might be due to multiple stressors, such as finances, health, school, family, and the future (Munir et al., 2021). Factors associated with Anxiety disorder include female gender, poor health status, low education level, and stressors (Iani et al., 2019). This blog post will enlighten us on the signs and symptoms, treatments, community resources, and referrals for Anxiety disorder.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE ON;NRNP 6665 WEEK 5 Assignment: Patient Education for Children and Adolescents Essay

Signs and Symptoms

The signs and symptoms of Anxiety disorder include excessive anxiety and worry, which are present for at least six months. In addition, the anxiety or worry occurs with three or more of the following symptoms for at least six months: Restlessness, feeling keyed up or on edge; Easy fatigue; Difficulty in concentrating or mind going blank; Muscle tension; Irritability; Sleep disturbance (Ströhle et al., 2018). Excessive anxiety and worry contribute to significant distress or cause impairment in a child’s social and school life. However, anxiety is not associated with any physical cause.

Pharmacological Treatments

Antidepressant drugs are the pharmacological agents of choice in treating anxiety disorder. The newer antidepressant agents are mostly preferred due to their safer adverse effect profile and ease of use. The antidepressant agents used as first-line drugs in treating anxiety disorder include Lexapro, Paxil, Cymbalta, and venlafaxine (Garakani et al., 2020). Benzodiazepines are used in treating anxiety disorder, including diazepam, clonazepam, and Ativan. They are indicated when an immediate alleviation of anxiety symptoms is needed, or a short-term treatment is required (Garakani et al., 2020). However, Benzodiazepines have a concern for misuse and dependence. Therefore, adolescents with a history of drug abuse or alcoholism are not ideal candidates for Benzodiazepine treatment.

Non-Pharmacological Treatments

Psychotherapy is a type of non-pharmacological treatment used to manage anxiety disorder. It is used alone or in combination with pharmacological treatment. The combination therapy results in greater results for most persons compared to either single treatment approach (Ströhle et al., 2018). The psychotherapies used in anxiety disorder include Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy and Relaxation techniques (Iani et al., 2019). Relaxation techniques are essential in helping the child/ adolescent control their anxiety levels.

Appropriate Community Resources and Referrals

Community resources available for children and adolescents with anxiety disorder include organizations such as: Anxiety and Depression Association of America – Anxiety and Depression in Children; the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry; Child Mind Institute. Blogs and online communities where you can learn more about child anxiety include: Parenting Anxious Kids, Anxiety-Free Child Blog, and Turn around Anxiety Blog. Children and adolescents with anxiety disorder are referred to a psychiatrist to begin long-term therapy and offer follow-up planning.

Conclusion

A child/adolescent with anxiety disorder experiences difficulty controlling worry and anxiety. It manifests with constant, excessive, and unrealistic worry about day-to-day things. Drugs used in treatment include antidepressants and benzodiazepines. Psychotherapy approaches include cognitive and behavioral therapy and relaxation techniques. Resources to obtain more information include online organizations and blogs.

References

Garakani, A., Murrough, J. W., Freire, R. C., Thom, R. P., Larkin, K., Buono, F. D., & Iosifescu, D. V. (2020). Pharmacotherapy of anxiety disorders: current and emerging treatment options. Frontiers in psychiatry, 1412. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.595584

Iani, L., Quinto, R. M., Lauriola, M., Crosta, M. L., & Pozzi, G. (2019). Psychological well-being and distress in patients with generalized anxiety disorder: The roles of positive and negative functioning. PloS one, 14(11), e0225646. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225646

Munir, S., Takov, V., & Coletti, V. A. (2021). Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Nursing). StatPearls [Internet].

Ströhle, A., Gensichen, J., & Domschke, K. (2018). The Diagnosis and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders. Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 155(37), 611–620. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2018.0611

Assignment: Patient Education for Children and Adolescents
Patient education is an effective tool in supporting compliance and treatment for a diagnosis. It is important to consider effective ways to educate patients and their families about a diagnosis—such as coaching, brochures, or videos—and to recognize that the efficacy of any materials may differ based on the needs and learning preferences of a particular patient. Because patients or their families may be overwhelmed with a new diagnosis, it is important that materials provided by the practitioner clearly outline the information that patients need to know.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

For this Assignment, you will pretend that you are a contributing writer to a health blog. You are tasked with explaining important information about an assigned mental health disorder in language appropriate for child/adolescent patients and/or their caregivers.

To Prepare
By Day 1, your Instructor will assign a mood or anxiety disorder diagnosis for you to use for this Assignment.
Research signs and symptoms for your diagnosis, pharmacological treatments, nonpharmacological treatments, and appropriate community resources and referrals.
The Assignment
In a 300- to 500-word blog post written for a patient and/or caregiver audience, explain signs and symptoms for your diagnosis, pharmacological treatments, nonpharmacological treatments, and appropriate community resources and referrals.
Although you are not required to respond to colleagues, collegial discussion is welcome.