Posted: September 2nd, 2022

Nursing process to infants, school-age children, younger adults, and older adults

Describe what life span considerations you might use in applying the nursing process to infants, school-age children, younger adults, and older adults in relation to immunizations and wellness.
Immunization works by preventing a person from contracting the disease from which they are immunized against. According to studies, the cost of vaccinating a person is cheaper and safer than the cost of treating a disease once a person falls ill. Before the immunization was introduced, illnesses such as polio, whooping cough, measles, and tetanus were relatively common. Today, thanks to vaccination, all these diseases and more are preventable with vaccine shots. Vaccination has managed to save millions of lives by preventing countless illnesses. Vaccines contain a weaker version of antigens that mimic the antigens that cause disease. When they are introduced into the body, the body responds by producing antibodies to protect the body against contracting the disease. This way, when the real disease attacks, the body is able to respond effectively by producing antibodies required to fight off the antigen.
Nurses are tasked with the primary role of administering immunizations to people across all stages of development. Ideally, all nurses and healthcare providers are equipped with the knowledge relating to human growth and changes across the lifespan. As a nurse, having knowledge regarding development in humans enables you to analyze and provide the appropriate care for each patient. To do so, a nurse should be able to identify the developmental stage of each patient and the right tasks needed. At each stage of development, specific tasks need to be accomplished in regards to the administration of immunizations and ensuring the wellness of the patients.
For instance, when dealing with young children, the nurse should first seek consent from their parents. The nurse should also assess the parent’s beliefs about health and their view towards vaccinations and develop a plan from there. The nurse will again ask assessment questions to the parents about the infant to establish what milestones the baby has achieved and what immunizations should have been administered at that stage. In cases where the parents are against the vaccinations, then the intervention should be focused on the parents.
The case is also similar for young adults. The nurse needs to make a detailed assessment to establish the previous vaccinations’ dates and establish whether the Tdap or the Td should be administered. The nurse should also establish whether the young adults are receiving annual flu vaccinations and, if not, probe further to know why. With older adults, the nurse should assess the presence and progression of chronic illnesses common in old age. Older adults may also need vaccinations for diseases like pneumonia, shingles, hepatitis B, and flu.
Bates, R. A., Blair, L. M., Schlegel, E. C., McGovern, C. M., Nist, M. D., Sealschott, S., & Arcoleo, K. (2018). Nursing across the lifespan: Implications of lifecourse theory for nursing research. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 32(1), 92-97.
Dudley, M. Z., Salmon, D. A., Halsey, N. A., Orenstein, W. A., Limaye, R. J., O’Leary, S. T., & Omer, S. B. (2018). The Clinician’s Vaccine Safety Resource Guide: Optimizing Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Across the Lifespan. Springer.
St-Amant, O., Lapum, J., Dubey, V., Beckermann, K., Huang, C. S., Weeks, C., … & English, K. (2020). Vaccine Practice for Health Professionals: 1st Canadian Edition.

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Tags: younger adults, school-age children, and older adults, Nursing process to infants