What is Child life / AAP Statement / ACCH Research Study

AAP Statement (American Academy of Pediatrics)

"Child Life services should be considered an essential component of quality pediatric health care and are integral to family-centered care and best-practice models of health care delivery for children"

Play and developmentally appropriate communication are used to

(1) promote optimal development (2) educate children and families about health conditions (3) prepare children and partner with families for medical events or procedures (4) plan and rehearse useful coping and pain-management strategies with patients and families (5) help children work through feelings about past or impending experiences (6) partner with families to establish therapeutic relationships between patients, siblings, and caregivers

The University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital

-190 pediatric inpatient beds -Level one trauma center -providing care since 1919 as Iowa's only comprehensive care center

ACCH research study

-Phoenix research study shows that child life interventions resulted in: 1. Less emotional distress 2. Better overall coping 3. Clearer understanding of procedures 4. Positive physical recovery 5. Better post-hospital adjustment

Table 1: Factors that may necessitate or support lower ration of patients to CCLS

-high volume of patient-family teaching needs -high proportion of patients requiring 1-on-1 interventions -multiple needs -frequent time-consuming demands -significant nonclinical demands, students, hospital committees, public relations, marketing and administrative duties

Certified Child Life specialist professional standards of practice

-minimum of a bachelor's degree or master's with specific in human growth and development, family studies, psych, other fields -up to 600 hours of experience -certification examination -professional development hours to maintain certification

Goals of Child Life

-play and other forms of communication become tools to help reduce stress and enable patients and families in coping with the health care experience -focuses on the psychosocial aspect of hospitalization -interventions are targeted to express childhood reactions to healthcare events

Evaluation in APIE

-the evaluation of the intervention, was it successful or not, the plan for the future -documentation, putting the intervention to objective terms when communicating the child life intervention/goals to the rest of the healthcare team

That's Child Life video

-use non-medical preparation for tests, surgeries and other medical procedures -support during medical procedures -developmental assessments -grief and bereavement support -sibling and family support -activities with group or 1:1 -coordinating volunteers and special events -promoting family-centered care

meet GABE

-when children pretend, they're using their imaginations to move beyond the bounds of reality. A stick can be a magic wand. A sock can be a puppet. -He wanted a red mohawk and he did and then shaved it due to his cancer

Assessment in APIE

1 - establish a trusting relationship 2 - gathering information from the healthcare team, the family and the child 3 - observing the child and family in different situations

APIE

Assessment Plan Intervention Evaluation

What is child life?

a. Child life focuses on the psychosocial aspect of hospitalization b. Play and other forms of communication become tools to help reduce stress and enable patients and families in coping with the healthcare experience c. Intervents are targeted to express childhood reactions to healthcare events

Planning in APIE

looking at the health care variables, family variables and child variables and assigning a stress potential to the child can help in planning an intervention

Why Child Life?

quality benchmark of an integrated patient and family-centered health care system -Interventions helped with lowering emotional distress, better overall coping, clearer understanding of procedures, positive physics recovery and better post hospital adjustment

Intervention in APIE

the actual child life specific intervention, such as procedural support, medical play, bereavement support, playroom activities, etc.