# A 7-year-old child has been missing for 6 hours after not returning home from school. The parents are at the hospital emergency department in a state of panic. What is the nurse's priority intervention when caring for these parents?

> source: MyMerci (mymerci.kr)  
> url: https://mymerci.kr/pages/nclex_q.php?qn_id=543464  
> language: ko  
> subject: Mental Health

## 문제

A 7-year-old child has been missing for 6 hours after not returning home from school. The parents are at the hospital emergency department in a state of panic. What is the nurse's priority intervention when caring for these parents?

## 보기

1. Encourage the parents to remain hopeful and positive about finding their child
2. Provide detailed information about child abduction statistics to help them understand the situation
3. Suggest the parents go home and wait for news from law enforcement
4. Assess the parents' immediate safety needs and provide crisis intervention support **✔ 정답**

**정답: 4**

## 해설

Crisis intervention prioritizes immediate safety assessment and stabilization for individuals in acute distress. The nurse must assess the parents' safety needs, emotional state, and ability to cope, providing support without false reassurance or overwhelming information.

## 심화 해설

Clinical Judgment
This question tests a core principle of Crisis Intervention. In a situation where a child has been missing for 6 hours, the parents arriving at the hospital emergency room are in a state of extreme panic and psychological trauma. The nurse's top clinical judgment priority focuses on the parents' safety and immediate psychological stabilization. Option 4 accurately reflects this principle. The first step of crisis intervention is always to assess the individual's Safety, which includes evaluating the risk of self-harm or harm to others, current mental status, and basic physiological/psychological needs. Only after this assessment can effective support and information provision occur.

Memory Tip:
Remember the sequence of the nurse's role in a crisis: **S**afety first → **A**ssess needs → **P**rovide support → **E**mpower & educate. Think of it as **SAPE**.

KR vs US:
In Korea, a common approach might be to reassure the family by saying 'It will be okay' to calm their emotions, but in the US NGN/CJMM, while acknowledging the validity of emotions (Validation), a systematic Safety Assessment is the top priority. 'Assessing current risk' takes precedence over 'instilling hope'.

## 임상 시나리오

Clinical Practice Guide
When dealing with families who have experienced an Acute Traumatic Stress Event, such as parents of a missing child:
1.  Provide a quiet and safe space.
2.  Speak in simple and clear language.
3.  Identify Immediate Needs with open-ended questions like "How can I help you right now?" or "What is your biggest concern at this moment?"
4.  Observe for physiological signs of stress, such as pulse, breathing, and complexion.
5.  Immediately begin collaboration with Law Enforcement and Social Workers.

Caution:
In SATA (Select All That Apply) questions, the option "give the parents hope" is an attractive but incorrect answer. Overly optimistic statements in the early crisis phase can be perceived as dismissing the parents' feelings and are a lower priority than the objective and essential nursing action of safety assessment.

## 핵심 개념

- **Crisis Intervention** — Crisis intervention. Immediate and short-term psychological support and stabilization techniques provided to an individual who has lost psychological balance after extreme stress or a traumatic event.
- **Safety Assessment** — Safety assessment. The process of evaluating the potential for harm to the patient or others due to self-harm, harm to others, or neglect. It is the top priority in psychiatric nursing and crisis situations.
- **Acute Stress Reaction** — Acute stress reaction. A temporary disorder that occurs within minutes to days after exposure to an extreme stressor, and may include dissociative symptoms, avoidance, arousal symptoms, etc.
- **Psychological First Aid** — Psychological first aid. A humane, supportive, and practical response provided to victims after a disaster or traumatic event, aimed at promoting a sense of safety, calmness, self-efficacy, connectedness, and hope.
- **Trauma-Informed Care** — Trauma-informed care. A nursing approach that recognizes the wide-ranging effects traumatic experiences can have on a person's life, focuses on preventing re-traumatization, and fosters recovery and empowerment.

## 같은 주제 문제

- [A 4-year-old child was found after being missing for 12 hours following a suspected abduct…](https://mymerci.kr/pages/nclex_q.php?qn_id=543465)
- [A nurse is caring for a 7-year-old child who was recently recovered after being abducted f…](https://mymerci.kr/pages/nclex_q.php?qn_id=543466)

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