Health Assessment and Health Supervision of Children

Vocabulary flashcards for pediatric health assessment and health supervision based on Chapters 31 and 32.

Functional History

Component of the pediatric health history that involves asking about the child's daily routine.

Developmental History

Component of the health history that determines the age when landmarks in gross motor control and other milestones were achieved.

Demographics

Data in the health history referring to the child's name, birth date, gender, race, ethnicity, and language spoken.

Chief Complaint

The reason for the visit (often asked as "What brings you in today?"), detailing onset, duration, characteristics, course, and triggers.

Past Health History

Section of the health history covering prenatal/perinatal history, past illnesses, injuries, hospitalizations, surgeries, diet, allergies, immunizations, medications, supplements, and menstrual history.

Review of Systems (ROS)

Systematic assessment covering growth and development, skin, head/neck, eyes, ears, mouth/throat, respiratory, cardiovascular, GI, GU, musculoskeletal, neurologic, endocrine, and hematologic systems.

Genogram

A visual family tree diagram used to record family health history, showing family members, ages, health conditions (such as obesity, hypertension, cancer), and living status across generations.

Look, Listen, Feel Method

The pediatric examination approach that orders techniques from least invasive to most invasive: observation, auscultation, palpation, and percussion.

Head Circumference Measurement Age Range

Routine physical measurement performed for healthy pediatric patients aged $0\text{--}35\,\text{months}$.

Normal Pediatric Growth Percentile Range

Growth chart range between the $5^{\text{th}}$ and $95^{\text{th}}$ percentiles within which a child's measurements are considered normal.

Infant and Toddler Recumbent Length Measurement

The technique of measuring a child's length in a lying position, performed until the age of $24\,\text{months}$.

Underweight Threshold

Classification for children whose weight-for-length or Body Mass Index (BMI) plots at less than the $5^{\text{th}}$ percentile.

Overweight Risk BMI Threshold

Body Mass Index range plotting between the $85^{\text{th}}$ and $95^{\text{th}}$ percentiles on pediatric growth charts.

Obesity Risk BMI Threshold

Body Mass Index plotting greater than the $95^{\text{th}}$ percentile on pediatric growth charts.

Pediatric Body Mass Index (BMI) Chart Age Range

Growth chart tracking tool included for children aged $2\text{--}20\,\text{years}$.

Infant Heart Rate Range

Normal resting heart rate for infants, defined as $80\text{--}150\,\text{bpm}$.

Infant Respiratory Rate Range

Normal resting respiratory rate for infants, defined as $25\text{--}55\,\text{breaths/min}$.

Toddler Heart Rate Range

Normal resting heart rate for toddlers, defined as $70\text{--}120\,\text{bpm}$.

Toddler Respiratory Rate Range

Normal resting respiratory rate for toddlers, defined as $20\text{--}30\,\text{breaths/min}$.

Preschooler Heart Rate Range

Normal resting heart rate for preschoolers, defined as $65\text{--}110\,\text{bpm}$.

Preschooler Respiratory Rate Range

Normal resting respiratory rate for preschoolers, defined as $20\text{--}25\,\text{breaths/min}$.

School-Age Heart Rate Range

Normal resting heart rate for school-age children, defined as $60\text{--}100\,\text{bpm}$.

School-Age Respiratory Rate Range

Normal resting respiratory rate for school-age children, defined as $14\text{--}26\,\text{breaths/min}$.

Adolescent Heart Rate Range

Normal resting heart rate for adolescents, defined as $55\text{--}95\,\text{bpm}$.

Adolescent Respiratory Rate Range

Normal resting respiratory rate for adolescents, defined as $12\text{--}20\,\text{breaths/min}$.

Point of Maximal Impulse (PMI)

Location on the chest wall where the apical impulse is visible in approximately half of children, shifting location as the child ages.

Pediatric Radial Pulse Palpation

Physical assessment technique that is difficult to perform in children younger than $2\,\text{years}$ of age.

Heart Auscultation Positions

Practice of listening to pediatric heart sounds in two different physical positions: upright and reclined.

Innocent Heart Murmurs

Non-pathological heart sounds that occur frequently in children due to their more dynamic cardiovascular circulation.

Blood Pressure Cuff Sites

Anatomical sites for BP measurement in children including brachial, radial, popliteal, dorsalis pedis, and posterior tibial arteries.

Stork Bite

A common vascular skin variation observed in newborns.

Milia

Common tiny white skin papules/variations observed on the faces of newborns.

Mongolian Spots

Common benign hyperpigmented skin variations seen in infants.

Erythema Toxicum

A common newborn rash variation characterized by small macules and papules.

Nevus Flammeus

A common pediatric skin variation also known as a port-wine stain.

Strawberry Nevus

A pediatric hemangioma skin variation that presents as a raised red birthmark.

Anterior Fontanel

Skull structure in infants that should remain open and flat up to $18\,\text{months}$ of age.

Infantile Strabismus

Intermittent eye misalignment that is considered normal in infants up to $6\,\text{months}$ of age.

Hirshberg Test

Eye screening method evaluating the symmetry of the corneal light reflex.

Pediatric Respiratory Assessment Parameters

Evaluation of rate, effort (easy vs. labored), retractions/accessory muscle use, abnormal sounds (wheezing, stridor, crackles), and cough characteristics (dry, hacking, wet, productive).

Grading Heart Murmurs

Method of characterizing murmurs in children based upon intensity, loudness, anatomical location, and radiation.

Abdominal Palpation Technique

Pediatric gastrointestinal assessment method performed gently to avoid tickling the child.

Female Pediatric Genitourinary Check

Specific physical inspection requirement to ensure there are no labial adhesions present.

Male Pediatric Genitourinary Check

Specific physical inspection requirement to ensure that both testes are descended.

Deep Tendon Reflexes (DTRs) Evolution

Reflex pattern that is brisk in newborns and decreases to normal adult levels by $5\,\text{months}$ of age.

Babinski Reflex Timing

Primitive reflex that is normally positive in infants up to $12\,\text{months}$ of age.

Tanner Staging Scale

A 5-stage rating scale (stages 1–5) used to evaluate the degree of pubertal development and secondary sex characteristics.

Female Tanner Staging Parameters

Secondary sex characteristics evaluated in females, specifically breast development and pubic hair distribution.

Male Tanner Staging Parameters

Secondary sex characteristics evaluated in males, specifically pubic hair, scrotum size, and penis length.

Cyanosis

Blueness of the lips, tongue, oral mucosa, or trunk caused by hypoxia or circulatory collapse.

Pallor

Decreased pinkness in light-skinned children or an ashy-gray color in dark-skinned children caused by anemia, shock, fever, or syncope.

Infant Examination Position

Strategy of conducting physical exams while holding or placing the infant on the caregiver's lap.

Preschooler Physical Exam Strategy

Developmental approach where the nurse involves the child by allowing them to inspect equipment like the stethoscope.

School-Age Physical Exam Strategy

Assessment approach that involves the child directly in the examination process to satisfy their need for a sense of control.

Adolescent Physical Exam Privacy

Guideline requiring the nurse to explain confidentiality, ask caregivers to wait outside, and perform the genital exam last.

Health Supervision

Proactive care model optimizing a child's level of functioning, ensuring proper growth and development, promoting optimal health, and preventing illness/injury.

Pediatric Health Supervision Timeline

Schedule of preventive visits at Birth, $1\,\text{week}$, $1\,\text{month}$, $2\,\text{months}$, $4\,\text{months}$, $6\,\text{months}$, $9\,\text{months}$, $12\,\text{months}$, $15\,\text{months}$, $18\,\text{months}$, $24\,\text{months}$, $30\,\text{months}$, $36\,\text{months}$, and annually from ages $3\text{--}21\,\text{years}$.

Medical Home

Model of pediatric primary care providing long-term, trusting, family-centered, accessible, affordable, and comprehensive care coordinated across specialties.

Three Components of Health Supervision

The core triad of pediatric health supervision consisting of developmental surveillance/screening, injury and disease prevention, and health promotion.

Wellness Focus in Health Supervision

Concept emphasizing that pediatric health supervision encounters should focus on child wellness and health promotion rather than solely on illness care.

Psychosocial Assessment Issues

Evaluation covering health insurance, transportation, financial stressors, family coping, and school response for children with chronic conditions.

Developmental Surveillance

Ongoing collection of skilled observations made over time during healthcare visits, including noting and addressing parental concerns, developmental history, accurate observations, and professional consultation.

Developmental Screening

The administration of brief, standardized tools during health supervision visits to identify children at risk for developmental delays.

Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ)

A standard screening tool used during pediatric health supervision to evaluate developmental progress.

Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS)

A standardized developmental screening tool based on parental observations and report.

Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (MCHAT)

Autism screening tool specifically administered at $18$ and $24\,\text{months}$ of age.

Substance Use Screening Age Range

Tobacco, drug, and alcohol screening recommended for adolescents aged $11\text{--}21\,\text{years}$.

PHQ-9 Screening Age Range

Standardized depression screening tool administered to pediatric patients aged $12\text{--}21\,\text{years}$.

Risk Assessment

Screening process incorporating objective and subjective data to determine the likelihood that a child will develop a specific health condition.

Universal Screening

Screening strategy applied to an entire population of children regardless of individual risk factors.

Selective Screening

Targeted screening performed when a preliminary risk assessment indicates the child has one or more specific risk factors for a disorder.

Preverbal Hearing Risk Assessment

Early hearing evaluation in newborns and young infants assessing reaction to sounds/voices, vocalization attempts, and parental concerns.

Later Hearing Risk Assessment

Hearing risk assessment in children older than $4\,\text{years}$ evaluating telephone difficulty, noisy environment difficulty, asking for repetition, and high TV volume.

Vision Screening Chart Setup

Standard procedure placing the screening chart at eye level with a mark on the floor $20\,\text{ft}$ away where the child aligns their heels.

Vision Screening Testing Sequence

Testing protocol where the child reads the chart lines with one eye covered, then the other eye covered, and finally with both eyes.

Active Immunity

Form of protection acquired when a person's own immune system generates an immune response to an antigen.

Passive Immunity

Form of protection produced when immunoglobulins from another person or source are transferred to a recipient.

Immunity

The physiological ability to destroy and remove a specific antigen from the body.

Live Attenuated Vaccines

Vaccines formulated using a weakened form of the live virus or bacterium.

Inactivated Vaccines

Vaccines produced using killed versions of the pathogen to stimulate immunity.

Toxoid Vaccines

Vaccines created using inactivated toxins produced by specific bacteria to build immunity against toxins rather than the organism itself.

Conjugate Vaccines

Vaccines that combine a weak antigen with a strong carrier protein to improve immune response.

Recombinant Vaccines

Vaccines created using genetic engineering technology to produce specific viral or bacterial antigens.

DTaP and Tdap

Pediatric and adolescent/adult vaccines protecting against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis.

Hib Vaccine

Immunization protecting against Haemophilus influenzae type B infections.

IPV Vaccine

Inactivated polio vaccine protecting against poliomyelitis.

MMR Vaccine

Combination vaccine protecting against measles, mumps, and rubella.

HepA and HepB Vaccines

Immunizations protecting against Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B viral infections.

Varicella (Var) Vaccine

Vaccine protecting against chickenpox.

Pneumococcal Vaccines

Vaccines including PCV (pneumococcal conjugate) and PPSV (pneumococcal polysaccharide) protecting against Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Rotavirus Vaccine

Immunization protecting against rotavirus gastroenteritis.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccines

Immunizations including HPV2 and HPV4 protecting against human papillomavirus.

Meningococcal Vaccines

Vaccines protecting against Neisseria meningitidis serogroups, including Meningococcal A and B.

Pediatric Vaccination Needle Gauge

Standard needle size range of $23\text{--}25\text{-gauge}$ used for vaccine administration.

Vaccine Information Statement (VIS)

Educational document provided to parents/caregivers prior to vaccine administration explaining risks and benefits.

Required Vaccine Documentation Components

Essential record items including date, vaccine name, lot number, expiration date, manufacturer, site, route, VIS edition date, facility name, and administrator name.

Anticipatory Guidance

Proactive health education provided to parents covering oral health, healthy weight, healthy activity, personal hygiene, and safe sun exposure.

Role of Community in Pediatric Health

Social concept recognizing that the community can act as a contributor to a child's health or as a cause of illness.

Maternal Depression Screening

A mental health screening component included in the early health supervision schedule for infants to evaluate maternal well-being.

Fluoride Varnish Program

Preventive oral health intervention delivered by primary care providers or dentists during routine pediatric health supervision visits.