PEDIATRICS · 1984 · 170 citations · 0 references
Public HealthChild HealthPediatricsBehavioral HealthChild PsychiatryPediatric Mental HealthChronic Health ConditionsFamily SupportFamily-based InterventionsPediatric Home CareChild Well-being In CareChildren With Chronic IllnessChronic Illness EducationFamily Satisfaction With CareHome Care SupportPatient-reported Functional StatusPediatric Chronic Illness CarePhysical Illness
The ongoing care needed by children with chronic physical illness is a topic of national concern. The study evaluates a Pediatric Home Care program that provides interdisciplinary primary care, support, coordination, advocacy, and education to chronically ill children and their families. Home interviews were conducted by an independent research team with 219 families at enrollment, 6 months, and 1 year, with 80 % completing all three. Pediatric home care improved family satisfaction, child psychological adjustment, and reduced maternal psychiatric symptoms, maintained child functional status, and showed a dose‑related benefit for longer participation, indicating it effectively minimizes the social and psychological consequences of chronic illness.
The ongoing care needed by children with chronic physical illness is a topic of national concern. The Pediatric Ambulatory Care Treatment Study ( PACTS ) is a classic pretest-posttest randomized experiment designed to evaluate a Pediatric Home Care (PHC) program in which an interdisciplinary team provides comprehensive primary health care, support, coordination, patient advocacy, and education to chronically ill children and their families. Home interviews were conducted by an independent research team with the 219 families at enrollment, 6 months, and 1 year; 80% completed all three interviews. Analyses indicate that pediatric home care is effective in improving the satisfaction of the family with care, in improving the child's psychological adjustment, and in lessening the psychiatric symptoms of the mother. The functional status of the children was equally well maintained in both groups, and there was no significant difference in the impact of the illness on the family between the two groups. There are indications that there may be a dose-related effect with respect to the child's psychological adjustment with those in the program for the longest period of time showing the greatest benefit. Such a home care program can be an effective intervention for minimizing the social and psychological consequences of chronic illness.