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Child Life in the Pediatric ICU

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Sedation and Analgesia for the Pediatric Intensivist

Abstract

Admission of a child to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) has long been recognized as a significant source of stress for both the child and their caregivers. However, it is increasingly recognized that the results of these stresses may last long beyond the date that the patient is discharged from the PICU or hospital. Child life specialists receive special training in child development, family systems, and coping strategies, and this unique set of skills offers an avenue of treatment to the critically ill child not typically able to be provided by other bedside caregivers. Specific interventions that can be provided include developmentally appropriate preparation for procedures needing to be performed in the PICU, a non-clinician presence for the alone child due to parental/family absence, and distraction and/or play therapies designed to provide a degree of “normality” to an abnormal situation. They can also be especially helpful in sitting down with patients/families who are having difficulty coping with the need for a PICU admission and/or the course of illness progression is poor or even maladaptive. By aiding in the development of improved comfort and coping mechanisms, child life therapists can further facilitate an easier transition out of the PICU and return to the home environment. They may also offer an added source of comfort when the outcome requires end-of-life care. Consequently, child life therapists must be considered an integral part of the PICU care team, and their involvement as early as possible following PICU admission should be encouraged.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. “Just For Kids” Critical Care Center, Norton Children’s Hospital, Louisville, KY, USA

    Jessie E. Gordon

  2. Norton Children’s Hospital, Louisville, KY, USA

    Elizabeth Sanders Martin

Authors
  1. Jessie E. Gordon
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  2. Elizabeth Sanders Martin
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Correspondence to Jessie E. Gordon .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Pradip P. Kamat

  2. Professor of Pediatrics/Pediatric Critical Care, University of Louisville, “Just For Kids” Critical Care Center, Norton Children’s Hospital, Louisville, KY, USA

    John W. Berkenbosch

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Gordon, J.E., Martin, E.S. (2021). Child Life in the Pediatric ICU. In: Kamat, P.P., Berkenbosch, J.W. (eds) Sedation and Analgesia for the Pediatric Intensivist. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52555-2_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52555-2_23

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-52554-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-52555-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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