title: [Function and structure of families with chronically ill children].
abstract: In modern medicine especially the sick child often points out the limits of the psychosocial potentialities. This project investigates the function, structure, coping mechanisms, power and weakness of families with chronically ill children. We investigated 28 children from the nephrological ward and 55 patients from the cardiological department and also their families with the FAM III and compared the obtained T-scores with the results of the control-group (76 families, t-test, analysis of variance). Families with patients after renal transplantation (NTX) pointed out significant worse T-scores than the group with patients on CAPD or with preterminal renal insufficiency and CG (p < 0.05). Within the cardiological groups the differences were not statistically significant, on the other hand the group with patients before heart-operation and the group with patients after palliative heart-operation had better T-scores than the CT (p < 0.05). These results demonstrate that families with children suffering from a chronic renal or heart disease mobilize substantial resources to cope with these problems. By contrast the results of the families with patients after NTX or successful heart surgery are significant worse than the control-group and the other investigated patients groups. Our results come to the conclusion that especially after successful NTX or heart-surgery a psychosocial care of these families is necessary.
authors.affiliation: Universitätsklinik für Kinder-und Jugendheilkunde, Wien.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Freilinger
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Skyllouriotis
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zacherl
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wimmer
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Balzar
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Schubert
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000523:psychology; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D010531:Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory / Q000523:psychology; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012803:Sick Role