Patient Education for Children and Adolescents

Patient education is an effective tool in supporting compliance and treatment for a diagnosis. It is important to consider effective ways to educate patients and their families about a diagnosis—such as coaching, brochures, or videos—and to recognize that the efficacy of any materials may differ based on the needs and learning preferences of a particular patient. Because patients or their families may be overwhelmed with a new diagnosis, it is important that materials provided by the practitioner clearly outline the information that patients need to know.
For this Assignment, you will pretend that you are a contributing writer to a health blog. You are tasked with explaining important information about an assigned mental health disorder in language appropriate for child/adolescent patients and/or their caregivers.
To prepare:
• Your assigned a mood or anxiety disorder diagnosis is Bipolar Disorder Depressed for this Assignment.
• Research signs and symptoms for your diagnosis, (Bipolar Disorder Depressed) pharmacological treatments, nonpharmacological treatments, and appropriate community resources and referrals.

Assignment:
In a 300 to 500 word blog post written for a patient and/or caregiver audience, explain signs and symptoms for your diagnosis – Bipolar Disorder Depressed pharmacological treatments, nonpharmacological treatments, and appropriate community resources and referrals.

Media Resources
• Center for Rural Health. (2020, May 18). Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder & childhood bipolar disorder [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/tSfYXkst1vM

• Mood Disorders Association of BC. (2014, November 20). Children in depression [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Qg-BBKB1nJc

• Psych Hub Education. (2020, January 7). LGBTQ youth: Learning to listen. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn4AVjMMYX4

Resources to consider:
• Hilt, R. J., & Nussbaum, A. M. (2016). DSM-5 pocket guide for child and adolescent mental health. American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
o Chapter 3, “Common Clinical Concerns”
o Chapter 7, “A Brief Version of DSM-5″
o Chapter 8, “A stepwise approach to Differential Diagnosis”
o Chapter 10, “Selected DSM-5 Assessment Measures”
o Chapter 11, “Rating Scales and Alternative Diagnostic Systems”Links to an external site.
• Shoemaker, S. J., Wolf, M. S., & Brach, C. (2014). The patient education materials assessment tool (PEMAT) and user’s guide. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/publications/files/pemat_guide.pdfLinks to an external site.
• Thapar, A., Pine, D. S., Leckman, J. F., Scott, S., Snowling, M. J., & Taylor, E. A. (2015). Rutter’s child and adolescent psychiatry (6th ed.). Wiley Blackwell.
•
o Chapter 60, “Anxiety Disorders”
o Chapter 61, “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”
o Chapter 62, “Bipolar Disorder in Childhood”
o Chapter 63, “Depressive Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence”