The mother of a 16-year-old child with multiple medical and developmental issues says to the nurse: "There are times that I think about just walking out of the house and not coming back." Which would be an appropriate nursing diagnosis for this mother?
A)Caregiver role strain related to providing 24-hour care for a child with medical and developmental issues
B)Risk for injury (maternal) related to overwhelming demands of the medically fragile child
C)Knowledge deficit (maternal) nursing care of the child
D)Health seeking behaviors (maternal) related to interest in learning to care for her child

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The mother's statement indicates that she is experiencing caregiver role strain, which is the inability to handle the demands of caregiving due to multiple stressors. As a result, she may feel overwhelmed and consider giving up. This may be common among parents of children with medical and developmental issues, who face continuous challenges in the provision of care. Therefore, the appropriate nursing diagnosis would be caregiver role strain. Choice B, Risk for injury (maternal), is not applicable in this case because there is no evidence of imminent harm to the mother or the child. Choice C, Knowledge deficit (maternal), is also not appropriate because the mother has not expressed any concerns about her knowledge or understanding of caring for her child. Choice D, Health seeking behaviors (maternal), may be relevant, but it does not address the mother's immediate need for support and intervention to address caregiver burden.

The Mother of a 16-Year-Old Child with Multiple Medical and Developmental