Abstract
The increased survival of youngsters with chronic physical disorders has led to concern about their long-term psychological adjustment. Few data are available on how to reduce the psychological morbidity that occurs in the presence of chronic childhood illness. An earlier report of a randomized controlled trial of a pediatric home care program demonstrated that this program, combining comprehensive biomedical and psychosocial care, reduced the short-term psychological morbidity of those receiving home care. However, data have not previously been available on whether the short-term improvement in adjustment is associated with any long-term benefits. This report presents long-term follow-up data collected 4 1/2 to 5 years after enrollment on 68% of the original sample. After this interval there were even larger differences between the experimental and control groups than those previously observed at 6 months and 1 year. This finding provides strong evidence that a comprehensive family-oriented outreach program for youngsters with chronic physical disorders can have longterm mental health benefits. It should encourage clinicians to develop similar programs and investigators to look for long-term effects of other interventions.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 490-496 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Pediatrics |
Volume | 88 |
Issue number | 3 |
State | Published - 1991 |
Keywords
- chronic illness
- home care
- long-term follow-up
- mental health
- psychological adjustment
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health