The nursing process for children with ear disease

Ear diseases in childhood are relatively frequent. Of these, the most affecting and threatening the children in infant, toddler and preschool age is an infection of the middle ear. Despite the increasing quality of healthcare and development of vaccines that contribute to a reduction of the number of children diagnosed with acute otitis media, occurrences of these inflammations are still frequent. Inflammation of the ear is accompanied by a number of unpleasant symptoms and as well as other diseases it requires specific treatment and care. Going through an inflammation of the middle ear is for the child an unpleasant and often very painful experience. This disease also brings its own risks in terms of complications. Although its course is mostly without complications and treatment is directed by a pediatrician, we are dealing with cases where it is necessary to hospitalize a child patient. This work in its theoretical part refers to the types of otitis media, prevention, risk factors and complications. It describes the diagnosis, treatment and care for a child with otitis media. It also deals with the awareness of parents, points to a nursing problems associated with inflammation of the middle ear and the specifics of child care. In the empirical part of this thesis, two objectives were set. The first objective was to map the state of awareness of parents about the risk factors and preventive measures to prevent otitis media. The second objective was to determine the incidence of the most common problems in nursing care for children with otitis media. Four research questions were set for these objectives and it was: How are parents being educated regarding risk factors that can lead to ear disease of children? How are parents being informed about preventive measures to prevent ear disease in children? How parents perceive education on inflammatory diseases of ears? What are the most common problems in nursing care for a child with inflammatory diseases of the ears? For the processing of the empirical part of the research it was chosen quantitative research. The survey was carried out using the methods of data collection through semi-structured interviews. It was designed for two nurses working in GP for children and adolescents and four nurses working in the pediatric department. Another research group consisted of parents of children. Half of them had experience with caring for their own child who has undergone at least one ear infection. Respondents were before the start of the interview informed about the reason and purpose of the research. Interviews were held up with the express consent of each respondent addressed. Interviews were carried out on a pre-arranged location in the period March-May 2014. They were recorded using a voice recording and a written record. After that, the interviews were transcribed and processed into categories and subcategories. This gave rise to four categories: Awareness of Parents, Education of Parents, Knowledge of Parents and Inflammation of the Middle Ear