Expectations of the public health nurses to activate the Child Guidance Center

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  • 児童相談所保健師に期待される役割
  • ジドウ ソウダンショ ホケンシ ニ キタイ サレル ヤクワリ

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<p>The revised Child Welfare Law of 2019 (enforced on April 1, 2022) stipulated that “at least one doctor and one public health nurse (PHN) should be included in the staff in charge of guidance that requires specialized knowledge and skills concerning the health and physical and mental development of children.” Doctors and public health nurses have begun to be assigned to Child Guidance Centers (CGCs), the core institutions dealing with child abuse. The CGCs were established in response to the 1947 Child Welfare Law and have played a pivotal role in child welfare administration. In 1964, the Manual for the Administration of Child Guidance Centers defined the role of PHNs working in CGCs for the first time, stating that “PHNs should collaborate with other staff members, particularly when it comes to counseling children, performing precise examinations of three-year-old children, and managing the health of temporarily protected children”[11].However, public health nurses assigned to CGCs have been appointed in various capacities, such as “child welfare officer (CWO)” or “concurrently serving as PHN and CWO.” This has led to some difficulties in connecting with consistent role activities and some fluctuations in the professional identity of public health nurses. The anticipated growth in the number of PHNs in CGCs is one of the ways to enhance and strengthen the expertise of CGCs. Therefore, the expertise and the roles of PHNs working in CGCs have been analyzed through a review of the literature.</p><p>The results showed that, despite their designation as a CWO, the PHN working in CGC is engaged in a variety of activities. They incorporated PHN skills such as integrating social work and public health activities, emphasizing a team approach, assessing families from medical and lifestyle perspectives, providing protective support, leveraging the strengths of maternal and child health law within the CGC, identifying potential cases requiring support through maternal and child health services, providing health management including assessment of the relationship between parents and children, seamlessly providing childcare support at home when terminating child protection, mediating between mental health, psychiatry and child welfare, guiding those who need counseling and support to counselors, and being with them.</p><p>In the near future, more PHNs will be required to work in CGCs, and they will be expected to propose novel ideas and skills that are distinct from those of other child welfare professionals.</p>

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