Informational Papers

SPN defines informational (white) paper as an official report or document that uses expert knowledge to guide and inform members about a complex issue in the care of pediatric patients. An informational (white) paper is intended to help members understand an issue, solve a problem, and/or make a decision based on SPN's philosophy.

SPN Informational Paper: Disaster Management for Children and Families(2020)

The Society of Pediatric Nurses (SPN) recognizes the significant impact of natural disasters on children, families, nurses and other professional health care providers who experience these catastrophic events. In 2017, for example, 122 countries reported 318 natural disasters that caused the death of more than 9,503 people, created 96 million victims and resulted in $314 billion in damages. An alarming trend is the rise in school shootings with multiple casualties (Katsiyannis, Whitford and Ennis, 2018).

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SPN Informational Paper: Pediatric Bill of Rights(2021)

The Society of Pediatric Nurses (SPN) recognizes that pediatric health care should be child-and family-centered and delivered in a way that is acceptable to patients, families, and healthcare providers (Society of Pediatric Nurses, 2008). The expectation is that pediatric nurses, patients, families/legal guardians, and other healthcare providers will gain knowledge from this Informational Paper and consider incorporating its premises in all healthcare settings across the continuum of care, thereby enhancing the child- and family-centered environment of care. Utilizing this information on pediatric rights demonstrates advocacy, which is an important component of standards of practice.

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SPN Informational Paper: School Start Times for Adolescents (2021)

The Society of Pediatric Nurses (SPN) recognizes that the indiscriminate functions of sleep, namely its role in facilitating neural reorganization, repair, and metabolic clearance, are essential and necessary elements of healthy brain development, physiologic and executive functioning, and emotional regulation. Adolescents, ages 13 to 18 years, require 8 to 10 hours per 24 hours of sleep on a regular basis to promote optimal health (Paruthi et al., 2016). Regular attainment of the recommended hours of sleep is associated with better health outcomes among pediatric populations, including improved attention, behavior, learning, memory, emotional regulation, quality of life, and physical health.

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SPN Informational Paper: Immunizations (2022)

Immunization received increased attention in 2020 due to the global pandemic and the multiple vaccinations becoming approved to prevent COVID-19. Long before this current public health crisis, pediatric immunization has been a public health priority. The effectiveness of this public health campaign is reflected in the low rates of vaccine preventable diseases. Immunization is a complex process with intricate schedules 4 that can be challenging for highly trained nurses and other health care providers. Social, economic, and physical costs, such as lost time at work and missed school days, as well as gaps in sustainability, continue within the ever-changing health care environment, 1,2 leaving much work to achieve optimal immunization levels

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