What are some protective factors associated with mental health and well-being for children and adolescents? What can you do as a PMHNP to support these protective factors? When assessing the mental health of children, this can be a complex task that not only involves the child, but also requires assessment of the family which also includes the family structure and the belief system of the family. Some protective measures that should be assessed by the mental health NP should include the following assessments: evaluate the child's relationships and interaction with school relationships, peers, religious beliefs, and cultural beliefs. The mental health NP should also evaluate a child's coping skills, assess the child's intellectual level and school performance (if the child is in school), monitor for positive physical development assess problem solving skills. The mental health NP should also evaluate the family structure where the child lives. This can include monitoring the family for structure, rules, and how the rules are enforced. The family should also be assessed to ensure there are supportive relationships that are not detrimental to the mental health of the child. The mental health NP should also evaluate the family structure for clear expectations of behavior, consequences for behavior, and assess the overall values of the family (Youth.gov). The mental health NP should also evaluate for suicidal thoughts or suicidal actions every visit and evaluate for symptoms of depression with every visit. Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts have doubled in the past decade thus resulting in an increased number of emergency room visits and inpatient hospitalizations for children aged 10-14 years of age. Immediate identification by the mental health NP is imperative for positive functional outcomes. Risk factors that increased suicidal behavior included stress that causes distress, disruptive and impulsive behavior, anxiety, depression, social stressors, and increased substance abuse in adolescents. A thorough assessment is required to provide the best possible outcomes for these patients (Janiri et. al, 2020). As a PMHNP, discuss measures for promoting health and independence for the older adult. Health promotion in the elderly can be a complex task due to the complexity of underlying medical issues and ailments plaguing the elderly patient. Health promotion in the elderly includes providing techniques to improve the quality of life of the patient. This can be accomplished by addressing and eliminating preventable causes for poor health instead of a focus on treating it or curing the condition. Health promotion includes regular scheduled appointments with the provider and compliance with prescribed treatments. Other measures that may be necessary include accommodations for the elderly that include visual impairments, hearing impairments, and physical impairments to attend scheduled appointments. The provider may have to move furniture in the office to accommodate a wheelchair or walker the patient is using to assist with mobility. The provider may have to use oversize print for education material for an elderly patient with a visual impairment. The provider may have to speak loudly for a patient with a hearing deficit. The provider can also services such as home health to assist an elderly patient with mobility or transportation issues. Since the pandemic, a provider can also utilize telehealth type visits with the elderly, when possible, to lower the chances of being exposed to Covid-19 while trying to use traditional methods for appointments. The provider will also have to consider the physiological changes that occur in the elderly and prescribe medications at a lower dose and titrate up to a desired therapeutic dose (Chiu et. al, 2020).