Study design (if review, criteria of inclusion for studies)
RCT
Participants
116 children with CF (8-12 years of age)
Interventions
psychosocial adjustment, functional health, and physiologic health in children (8-12 years of age) with CF by teaching them life skills for managing their chronic illness in their everyday lives
Outcome measures
Perceived Illness Experience Scale, Self-Perception Profile for Children, Social Support Scale for Children, and Children's Loneliness Scale. Functional health status was measured with the Functional Disability Inventory for Children. Physiologic status was assessed as pulmonary function (FEV1%) and physical growth.
Main results
Compared with children in the usual care group, the participants demonstrated decreased perceived impact of illness (p < .0001) and decreased loneliness (p < .0001). At 9 months, the improvements were maintained for impact of illness (p = .01) and loneliness (p = .01), remaining significantly different from baseline.
Authors' conclusions
This developmentally appropriate, problem-solving, and social skills intervention has promise for decreasing the social consequences of chronic illness (CF) in children's lives.
Keywords: Child; non pharmacological intervention - psyco-soc-edu-org; Self-Management; Behavioural interventions;