Use of small group with chronically ill children.
Using small groups with elementary school children is a valuable tool for dealing with the physical, social and emotional aspects of chronic disease. The self-esteem of the participants was improved and a means of providing peer support developed. Also, this particular format helped the children talk about their diseases, their feelings and encouraged them to talk with their parents. We would encourage others to try this approach. The model needs to be replicated many times before it could be fully validated because this was undertaken with a small sample of students. One recommended addition is to include at least one session with both parents and their children. This would provide a structured setting for parents and children to better understand each other. It also would be beneficial to have more group sessions with the parents to further explore some of the many issues that were raised.
D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D002666:Psychology, Child; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group; D012572:School Health Services