Child-Centred Pharmacology: An Introduction for Nurses and Allied Health Professionals

The successful management of children’s health problems requires a sophisticated understanding of their health problems and needs, as well as knowledge about how best to respond to their situations. This holds particularly when prescribing for children. Discussing the best choice of therapeutic interventions available when caring for children, this is the first textbook for nurses and allied health professionals working in this important area.

Linking the relevant aspects of developmental biology with those of pathophysiology, pharmacology and pharmacotherapeutics, this accessible text encompasses concordance with treatment, relevant aspects of care management, clinical outcomes and future directions. Emphasis will also be placed on drug administration and medicine management – taking into consideration factors such as research evidence, policies and guidelines that influence safe, competent administration and prescribing of drugs in diverse contexts. Further chapters include discussion of:

• Safe prescribing for surgery
• Issues around consent
• Adverse responses to drugs
• Child-centred formulae and their use in practice
• Clinical trials
• Holistic assessment.

This book focuses on the aspects of pharmacology that are crucial for truly child-centered prescribing practice. It is an essential text for all nursing and allied health students of prescribing who are, or will be, working with children.