[A study of the nature of the nurse's recognition of problems in pediatric nursing and the expectation for a support system provided by a specialist of pediatric nursing--the study presents a comparison children units with mixed units of both children and adults].

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the research was to examine the nature of the nurse's recognition of problems in pediatric nursing, the method of solving the problems and the expectation of support by the pediatric nursing specialist. A questionnaire was sent to 1511 nurses who care for hospitalized children. The nurses were selected from 165 hospitals which had a children's unit and 172 hospitals which did not have a children's unit, but had a mixed unit of both children and adults. Each hospital selected had more than 300 beds. The nurse's recognition of problems in child care in both care setting was high. Recognition of problems regarding direct care for children on the children's unit was higher than that on the mixed unit. Indirect factors relating to pediatric nursing were higher on the mixed unit than on the children's unit. The expectation of support by the specialist was high and varied in kind. Nurses who responded to the questionnaire expressed a need to have a pediatric nurse specialist in their hospital or on their unit. The results indicated that a pediatric liaison nurse is required to support the various needs of the pediatric nurse.