Guidelines also apply to non-military pediatricians, who care for more than half of these children
TUESDAY, May 28 (HealthDay News) -- All pediatricians can play a role in supporting children who are exposed to parental deployment, according to a clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), published online May 27 in Pediatrics.
Noting that about two million U.S. children were exposed to at least one wartime deployment in the past 10 years and that non-military pediatricians care for more than 50 percent of these children before, during, and after deployment, Benjamin S. Siegel, M.D., from the AAP Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health and Section on Uniformed Services, and colleagues addressed the issues surrounding deployment.
The committee notes that children of all ages are affected by wartime deployment. All pediatricians should be prepared to address parental wartime deployment issues, including service-specific characteristics of the deployed service member, stage of deployment, and prior deployment experience. During a time of family change, the pediatrician has a role to play in assessing the level of family and child stress and utilizing the principles of anticipatory guidance, psychoeducation, and continued surveillance and screening over time. Pediatricians should plan to speak confidentially to adolescents regarding their fears and worry. In addition, child abuse screening and mental health screening of child caregivers are important elements of the clinical encounter, as is understanding age-appropriate reactions to deployment.
"By understanding the military family and the experiences of parental wartime deployments, all pediatricians and other health care providers serving children can be the 'front line' for the health and well-being of U.S. military children and their family members, especially in time of war," the authors write.
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