Intervention by the Professional Mental Health Nurse in adoptive families with international origin
Section: Ethics and Society
How to quote
Martínez Martínez C. Intervención del profesional enfermero de Salud Mental en familias adoptivas de origen internacional. Metas Enferm 2013; 16(3):12-15.
Authors
Concepción Martínez Martínez
Position
Enfermera especialista en Salud Mental. Hospital General Universitario de Valencia.
Contact address
Passeig Serra d’Espadà, 4, 5, 25. 46120 Alboraya (Valencia).
Contact email: conxi.2m@gmail.com
Abstract
International adoption is a very recent parenthood option in Spain. This type of parenthood entails a series of risk factors both for parents and children, which cause these families to visit Mental Health services very frequently. However, a very high proportion of adoptions are cut short, throwing the child into a double abandonment, first by their country of origin and secondly by their adoptive family, and leaving them under the guardianship of social services.
There are 48.805 children who have come to Spain through international adoption; it is the second country, after Sweden, in terms of number of international adoptions per 100,000 inhabitants, and the first country in the world in relative terms (12.3 adoptions per 100,000 inhabitants in 2005). The number of adoptions is increasing by 4,000 per year.
The Professional Mental Health Nurse is qualified to act upon risk families through psychoeducational techniques, workshops, communication interventions and case management, as well as to help making the adoption process easier, and to conduct a major preventive work in adoptive families before dysfunctional problems appear. Given the complexity of this area, and how little it has been studied from the Nursing perspective, it is necessary to conduct an on-going research about the needs and demands by these new families.
There are 48.805 children who have come to Spain through international adoption; it is the second country, after Sweden, in terms of number of international adoptions per 100,000 inhabitants, and the first country in the world in relative terms (12.3 adoptions per 100,000 inhabitants in 2005). The number of adoptions is increasing by 4,000 per year.
The Professional Mental Health Nurse is qualified to act upon risk families through psychoeducational techniques, workshops, communication interventions and case management, as well as to help making the adoption process easier, and to conduct a major preventive work in adoptive families before dysfunctional problems appear. Given the complexity of this area, and how little it has been studied from the Nursing perspective, it is necessary to conduct an on-going research about the needs and demands by these new families.
Keywords:
adoptive families; dysfunctional problems during adoption; international adoptionmental health nursing
Versión en Español
Título:
Intervención del profesional enfermero de Salud Mental en familias adoptivas de origen internacional
