Think about health promotion opportunities in your clinical practice related to critically ill or highly dependent children and young people, bearing in mind the following:

• In critical care, health promoting activities can be facilitated both formally and informally. Informal health promotion and health education can be undertaken when meeting the patient’s personal hygiene needs such as during eye or mouth care. This is an ideal opportunity for interacting and communicating issues around healthy lifestyles with both children, young people and their families. Additionally, health promotion can be facilitated during the nursing admission process when you investigate the child or young person’s normal routines and lifestyles. Having information leaflets on healthy lifestyles, immunisations, healthy eating for children and nearby resources that promote these activities may help at a time when a child or young person and their family are open to these suggestions, but these must be balanced against causing further stress or distress for families during crisis periods.

Formal health promotion activities require more thought and sensitivity. Take for instance the child who has sustained a head injury whilst cycling without a protective helmet or a child with a respiratory condition whose parents smoke. To discuss health promotion activities during these crises is inappropriate and could cause a sense of guilt and depression in parents who may already feel responsible for their child’s admission. Therefore, proper timing, sensitivity, the correct environment and follow-up care are important issues.