Question

An 8-year male is brought to the Emergency Department for a temperature of 105 F and extreme lethargy. The child complains of a sore throat, severe headache, and severe body aches. The parents state the child went to bed in a healthy condition but woke during the night with a temperature of 102. The child has no other significant medical history. The parents do not believe in vaccinations and home school their children. They have one other child at home who has asthma. The patient is diagnosed with influenza and the plan is to admit to the pediatric intensive care unit. The nurse returns to the patient to prepare for transfer to PICU and hears the UAP telling the parents they are smart not to vaccinate their children because it caused his son to have autism.

Craft an initial post that addresses:

1. What ethical dilemma does the nurse face and what interventions should the nurse take to address the issue(s)?  
2. Provide a detailed education plan for the rationale for vaccinations and the management of influenza.

Answer 1

Millions of parents immunize their kids each year without concern. Yet some parents have heard rumors that vaccines can cause serious health problems.
Rumors persist that an increase in autism in children is caused by thimerosal. This is a preservative added to vaccines. But thimerosal was removed from all vaccines in i1995. And the frequency of autism has continued to increase there. Thimerosal has also been nearly removed where autism rates also keep increasing, as they have throughout the world. After a thorough review, in 2004 the Institute of Medicine rejected the idea that vaccines had any relationship with autism.  
Nurse faces issues about the ignorance and patients beliefs about certain things. It is the right of nurse and patient to make understand the benefits of vaccine with its natural but not harmful side effects by stating certain examples and situations to make a clear picture about the advantages of vaccine admin

Reasons for getting a flu vaccine :

• Reduces the risk of flu illness and hospitalization among children.
• Shown to be life-saving for children.
• Can make illness less severe among people who get vaccinated but still get sick with flu.
• Reduces the risk of illness, which can keep your child from missing school or childcare and you from having to miss work.
• Reduces the high risk of developing serious flu complication especially if your child is younger than 5 years, or of any age with certain chronic conditions.
• Helps prevent spreading flu to family and friends, including babies younger than 6 months who are too young to get a flu vaccine.

• Maintain patent airway.
  Administer oxygen as ordered; monitor oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry, and notify the physician of readings <90% or as prescribed by the physician; position patient in high Fowler’s or semi-Fowler’s position, if possible; administer bronchodilators as ordered; perform postural drainage and percussion, as ordered; encourage fluids, up to 3-4 L/day unless contraindicated; and encourage deep breathing exercises and coughing exercises every 2 hours.

• Maintain normal breathing pattern.
• Perform chest physiotherapy, chest percussion, and postural drainage as ordered; encourage patient to change position every 2 hours and as needed, and assist as needed; and provide and encourage fluid intake of at least 2 L/day unless contraindicated.
• Achieve normal temperature. Monitor VS especially temperature, every 2-4 hours and as needed; utilize the same methods of temperature reading with each measurement; administer antipyretics as ordered; provide tepid sponge baths; and instruct patient/family in use of hypothermia blanket, reasons for use, signs, and symptoms of complications, etc.
• Achieve relief from pain. Administer analgesics as ordered; provide warm baths or heating pad to aching muscles; encourage gargling with warm water; provide throat lozenges as necessary; and instruct patient or SO in deep breathing, relaxation techniques, guided imagery, massage, and other nonpharmacologic aids.