Adaptation To Chronic Childhood Illness

This book is intented to be of interest to social scientists and health care professionals who are involved in caring for children with chronic childhood illness. We envision this book as more than a reference tool for those studying the process of adaptation. Our goal is to have an impact on both science and practice by providing an integrating, biopsychosocial framework that will influence the formulation of research questions, intervention efforts, and public policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved).

The author draws extensively on the published research findings in child health psychology, and also on her own experience of working with pediatric medical and nursing staff. The emphasis throughout her book is on coping, and helping families to cope, with the stresses imposed by chronic childhood illness. Frequent hospital admissions, pain and its evaluation and control, adjustment and sources of support, communication, education and programs for intervention, all of these topics are discussed sensitively and with authority.

Management of chronic illness in children and adolescents often is a multifaceted challenge that requires the attention and expertise of individuals from a variety of disciplines that include psychology, psychiatry, social work, and medicine. The aim of this book is to provide readers with a practical overview of the definitions, characteristics, theories and models, diagnostic and treatment indications, and relevant aspects and methods of evidence-based psychosocial treatments for chronic illness in children and adolescents. Although treatments and research for chronic conditions are reviewed in general, particular attention is directed at asthma, cancer, cystic fibrosis, diabetes mellitus, and sickle cell disease due to the high incidence of these chronic diseases among children and adolescents. Case vignettes and suggestions for further reading are provided for the interested reader.

These children and families need psychological support to help them comply with doctors' orders and cope with issues such as restricted physical activity, frequent absences from school, and social problems.

Contains the proceedings of three separate conferences held in 1973 and 1974.

Explores how people with various chronic illnesses and disabilities are affected by their conditions, how they react to and cope with them, and what factors are linked to successful psychological adaptation. After reviewing theory, methods, and measures of adaptation, focuses on various traumatic or

Chronic childhood disease brings psychological challenges for families and carers as well as the children. Roger Bradford explores how they cope with these challenges, the psychological and social factors that influence outcomes and the ways in which the delivery of services can be improved to promote adjustment. Drawing on concepts from health psychology and family therapy, the author proposes a multi-level model of care which takes into account the child, the family and the wider care system and how they interrelate and influence each other.