3/4/2020 4 Child Abuse Nursing Care Plans - Nurseslabs
4 Child Abuse Nursing Care Plans
By Paul Martin, BSN, R.N. - Updated on April 10, 2019
The term child abuse is used to describe any neglect or mistreatment of infants or
children including in iction of emotional pain, physical injury, or sexual exploitation.
Neglect or abuse is most often in icted by the child’s biological parents. Others who
have been implicated include foster parents, babysitters, boyfriends, friends, and
daycare workers. Nurses are legally and morally responsible to identify children who
may be maltreated and to report ndings to protect the child from further abuse.
Neglect is the most common form of abuse and may include deprivation of basic
physical or emotional needs: food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, education, a ection,
love, and nurturing. Emotional abuse stems from rejection, isolation, and/or
terrorizing the child.
Physical abuse may result in burns, bruises, fractures, lacerations, or poisoning.
Infants may su er from “shaken baby syndrome” with severe or fatal neurologic
injuries caused
by violent shaking of the infant. Signs of shaken baby syndrome include retinal and
subarachnoid hemorrhage. Signs of sexual abuse include bruising or bleeding of the
anus or genitals, genital discharge, odor, severe itching or pain, and sexually
transmitted diseases. A discrepancy between the nature of the child’s injuries and the
reported cause of injury is a frequent clue that abuse has occurred.
Nursing Care Plans
The major nursing care planning goals for the child experiencing abuse includes
ensuring adequate nutrition, safety of the abused child, relief from anxiety, improving
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parenting skills and building parental con dence.
Here are four (4) nursing care plans (NCP) and nursing diagnosis (NDx) for child
abuse:
1. Imbalanced Nutrition: Less Than Body Requirements
2. Anxiety
3. Impaired Parenting
4. Risk for Trauma
1 - Imbalanced Nutrition: Less Than Body Requirements
Imbalanced Nutrition: Less Than Body Requirements
Imbalanced Nutrition: Less Than Body Requirements: Intake of nutrients
insu cient to meet metabolic needs.
May be related to
Inability to ingest food
Parental neglect on nutritional status
Possibly evidenced by
Loss of subcutaneous fat
Inadequate amount of food
Weight loss
Malnutrition
Withholding of food by parent/caretaker
Failure to thrive
Desired Outcomes
Child will manifest no further weight loss and, if malnourished, will gain 2.2 lb (1
kg)
per week.
Nursing Interventions Rationale
Assess for signs and symptoms of A child with nutritional de ciency
malnutrition. manifest decreased attention span,
confused, pale and dry skin,
subcutaneous tissue loss, dull and
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brittle hair, and red, swollen tongue and
mucous membranes.
Allows the evaluation of the number of
Monitor intake and output and food
calories being consumed per day and
intake; Weigh client daily.
progress of nutritional therapy.
Assess and record the amount,
Provide a guide on the absorption of
consistency, and color of stools and
nutrients in the body.
emesis.
Promotes good appetite and enhances
Maintain good oral hygiene prior meals.
the taste of foods/ uids.
Encourage parents to assist the child Eating as a self-care activity enhances
during feeding. self-esteem.
Encourage small, frequent feedings high Small meals decrease fatigue and are
in carbohydrates and protein. easier to tolerate.
Minimizes fatigue and improve the
Encourage adequate rest periods.
child’s appetite.
Nutritional support may be
Consider the possible need for enteral
recommended for those who are
or parenteral nutritional support as
unable to maintain nutritional intake by
indicated.
the oral route.
A dietitian or nutritional support team
Consult and refer to a dietitian or
can
nutritional support team for dietary
individualize the child’s diet within
counseling.
prescribed restrictions
1 - Imbalanced Nutrition: Less Than Body Requirements
See Also
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Nursing Care Plan: The Ultimate Guide and Database – the ultimate database
of nursing care plans for di erent diseases and conditions! Get the complete list!
Nursing Diagnosis: The Complete Guide and List – archive of di erent nursing
diagnoses with their de nition, related factors, goals and nursing interventions
with rationale.
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Paul Martin, BSN, R.N.
Paul Martin is a registered nurse with a bachelor of science in nursing since 2007. Having worked as a medical-
surgical nurse for ve years, he handled di erent kinds of patients and learned how to provide individualized
care to them. Now, his experiences working in the hospital is carried over to his writings to help aspiring students
achieve their goals. He is currently working as a nursing instructor and have a particular interest in nursing
management, emergency care, critical care, infection control, and public health. As a writer at Nurseslabs, his
goal is to impart his clinical knowledge and skills to students and nurses helping them become the best version of
themselves and ultimately make an impact in uplifting the nursing profession.
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