NURS 6512 CASE STUDY Risks and Further Information I Would Need to Gain a Full Understanding of the Child’s Health

Undernutrition can also be caused due to mental health conditions and feeding environments. It is thus crucial to screen for eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia that may have an impact on the child, considering that the mother is overweight. Additionally, one may need to consider behaviors that discourage eating, such as bullying at school and childhood depression and anxiety disorders. Additionally, one may need to inquire about parental involvement in meals to inquire whether there is a source of discouragement to feeding (Engidaye et al., 2022). Lastly, it is vital to inquire about the ability of the parents to access nutritional foods and their feeding habits.

Specific Questions to Ask About the Child to Gather More Information

1. What type of food do you occasionally give your child, and does she have any preferences?
2. How do both of you contribute and participate in your daughter’s feeding patterns?
3. Are there foods you prefer not to give your daughter, and why?
4. Has your child ever been diagnosed with health conditions that may have affected her nutrition?
5. Have you noticed any behavior change that may have affected your daughter’s well-being or her relationship with food?

Strategies to Encourage the Parents to Be Proactive about Their Child’s Health and Weight

The strategies I would employ to encourage the parents to be proactive about the child’s health include educating them on child nutrition. I would provide them with resources and inform them of signs of child malnutrition to empower them with knowledge to make right decisions (Vassilakou, 2021). Secondly, I would encourage the parents to involve their daughter in discussions regarding nutrition and have a feedback session with her. I would also organize regular follow-ups to monitor for improvement and highlight positive changes.

Conclusion

Undernutrition is a common malnutrition condition that affects children. It is crucial to note the effects it has on different organ systems. Causes of undernutrition are organic, inorganic, or both. It is thus crucial to identify the cause before initiating management. Active management of malnutrition in children requires parental and child’s active participation to achieve necessary nutritional goals.

References

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De Sanctis, V., Soliman, A., Alaaraj, N., Ahmed, S., Alyafei, F., &Hamed, N. (2021). Early and Long-term Consequences of Nutritional Stunting: From Childhood to Adulthood. Acta bio-medica :AteneiParmensis, 92(1), e2021168. https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v92i1.11346

Dipasquale, V., Cucinotta, U., & Romano, C. (2020). Acute Malnutrition in Children: Pathophysiology, Clinical Effects and Treatment. Nutrients, 12(8), 2413. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12082413

Engidaye, G., Aynalem, M., Adane, T., Gelaw, Y., Yalew, A., &Enawgaw, B. (2022). Undernutrition and its associated factors among children aged 6 to 59 months in Menz Gera Midir district, Northeast Ethiopia: A community-based cross-sectional study. PloS one, 17(12), e0278756. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278756

Fontaine, F., Turjeman, S., Callens, K., &Koren, O. (2023). The intersection of undernutrition, microbiome, and child development in the first years of life. Nature communications, 14(1), 3554. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39285-9

Kabashneh, S., Alkassis, S., Shanah, L., & Ali, H. (2020). A Complete Guide to Identify and Manage Malnutrition in Hospitalized Patients. Cureus, 12(6), e8486. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.8486

Schuetz, P., Seres, D., Lobo, D. N., Gomes, F., Kaegi-Braun, N., &Stanga, Z. (2021). Management of disease-related malnutrition for patients being treated in hospital. Lancet (London, England), 398(10314), 1927–1938. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01451-3

Vassilakou, T. (2021). Childhood Malnutrition: Time for Action. Children (Basel, Switzerland), 8(2), 103. https://do