Towards Sustainable Healthcare for Children

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Nursing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 October 2024) | Viewed by 2388

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Caring Science, Work Life and Social Welfare, University of Boras, S-508 00 Boras, Sweden
Interests: children’s voices; children’s rights; survivorship; communication; everyday life for children living with a long-term illness; nursing; research with children; clinical implications

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Caring Science, Work Life and Social Welfare, University of Boras, S-508 00 Boras, Sweden
Interests: existential issues in relation to caring; health and well-being; children’s voices; research with children; clinical implications; the lives of young children that experience different medical procedures; augmentative and alternative communication; children’s rights in health care

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Children have traditionally been left voiceless in the healthcare setting. Yet recent decades of research have revealed children’s specific needs in preventative and pediatric care as they live with long-term illness and disability in increasing numbers. Their experiences of their healthcare, as well as their longing for other children, an inclusive school system, and a meaningful everyday life, have been revealed. Children seek to be heard as individuals, not just defined by their medical conditions.

Power dynamics are shifting as children increasingly participate in decision making regarding their healthcare. The family-centered care approach of many years is being challenged by child-centered care, emphasizing the inclusion of children's perspectives. In today's post-pandemic world marked by conflict, terror, and climate crises, healthcare systems are rapidly evolving through AI and digitalization. Sustainable care for children in need of healthcare, in accordance with the goals of Agenda 2030 and of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, must be participatory, interdisciplinary, and driven by the input of children in need of services.

This Special Issue aims to bring together international expertise describing children’s experiences in healthcare and their striving for wellbeing, as told by children. Methods that access a child’s world even when they do not have a voice are welcome. Articles that focus on translating research results into clinical practice are particularly welcome, and we hope that health practitioners find the time to document their successes and lessons learned.

In recent years, a number of articles have been published that highlight areas that we hope the Special Issue will be able to address:

  • BRAY, L., & Isupport, I. (2021). Getting It Right First Time and Every Time: Re-Thinking Children's Rights when They Have a Clinical Procedure. Journal of Pediatric Nursing61, 10-12.
  • Kleye, I., Sundler, A. J., Karlsson, K., Darcy, L., & Hedén, L. (2023). Positive effects of a child‐centered intervention on children's fear and pain during needle procedures. Paediatric and Neonatal Pain.
  • Darcy, L., Enskär, K. & Björk, M. (2019). Young Children’s Experiences of Living an Everyday life with Cancer –A three year Interview Study. European Journal of Oncology Nursing 39, 1-9.
  • Sahlberg, S., Karlsson, K & Darcy, L (2020). Children’s rights in Swedish healthcare. Health Expectations. DOI: 10.1111/hex.13060
  • Sundler, A., Bergnehr, D., Haffejee, S., Iqbal, H., Orellana, M. et al. (2023). Adolescents’ and young people’s experiences of social relationships and health concerns during COVID-19. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 18:1, 2251236, https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2023.2251236
  •  Israelsson-Skogsberg, Å., Hedén, L., Lindahl, B. and Laakso, K., 2018. ‘I am almost never sick’: everyday life experiences of children and young people with home mechanical ventilation. Journal of Child Health Care22(1), pp.6-18.

Dr. Laura Darcy
Dr. Katarina Karlsson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • everyday life
  • long-term illness
  • painful procedures
  • children’s rights
  • child perspective
  • child-centered care
  • communication
  • clinical practice
  • children’s rights

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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13 pages, 246 KiB  
Article
Accessing the Lived Experiences of Children with Illness in Sweden for Health Care Research
by Laura Darcy, Åsa Israelsson-Skogsberg, Ida Kleye and Katarina Karlsson
Children 2024, 11(12), 1477; https://doi.org/10.3390/children11121477 - 1 Dec 2024
Viewed by 598
Abstract
Background: Children are a relatively marginalized group when doing research in the context of illness, young children particularly so. This even though children can and should contribute their point of view in providing evidence-based care. This article contributes the experiences of Nurse Researchers [...] Read more.
Background: Children are a relatively marginalized group when doing research in the context of illness, young children particularly so. This even though children can and should contribute their point of view in providing evidence-based care. This article contributes the experiences of Nurse Researchers in gathering research data in Sweden on the lived experiences of children undergoing needle-related medical procedures, living with home mechanical ventilation or undergoing treatment for cancer. Methods: Nine published articles from four unique Swedish PhD dissertations in Caring Science formed the basis for the present paper where various open and critical qualitative approaches for gathering data were used. Results: Accessing and interpreting the lived experiences of ill children in healthcare research presents methodological, ethical, and cultural challenges. As with health care contexts in other countries, capturing the ill child’s experiences in Sweden requires several different methods. Health researchers in Sweden must navigate a complex landscape of communication barriers, emotional and psychological challenges, and structural issues within the healthcare system to effectively access and understand the lived experiences of children. Conclusions: This paper adds to the knowledge base of research with a focus on gathering the experiences of children with illness within a Swedish health care context. These insights underscore the importance for all researchers of using child-friendly, inclusive methods to understand children’s lived experiences thus ensuring their voices are heard and respected in health research. Children’s and families’ inability to speak the native language of a country cannot be a hinder for inclusion, but rather be encouraged. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Sustainable Healthcare for Children)

Other

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15 pages, 3244 KiB  
Systematic Review
Effectiveness of Non-Pharmacological Interventions in the Management of Pediatric Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review
by Abel Checa-Peñalver, Cristina Lírio-Romero, Esther A. Luiz Ferreira, Sonsoles Hernandes-Iglesias, Inmaculada García-Valdivieso, Juan Manuel Pérez-Pozuelo and Sagrario Gómez-Cantarino
Children 2024, 11(12), 1420; https://doi.org/10.3390/children11121420 - 25 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1302
Abstract
(1) Background: Chronic pain in children remains an under-researched area, especially compared to acute pain. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions in the management of pediatric chronic pain and their impact on the well-being of both children and [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Chronic pain in children remains an under-researched area, especially compared to acute pain. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions in the management of pediatric chronic pain and their impact on the well-being of both children and their families. Given the growing interest in integrative treatments to reduce reliance on pharmacological solutions, this review addresses the need for alternative therapeutic approaches. (2) Methods: A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines, covering studies published between 2019 and 2024 from PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus. Eligible studies included children aged 2 to 18 years with chronic pain who received non-pharmacological interventions. Data were extracted on intervention types, participant characteristics, and outcomes. The risk of bias was assessed using RoB2 for randomized trials and ROBINS-I for non-randomized studies. (3) Results: A total of 11 studies involving 1739 children were included, assessing interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy, personalized psychosocial follow-up programs, hypnotherapy, music therapy, and digital tools. The results demonstrated significant reductions in pain severity, improvements in emotional and physical well-being, and high patient satisfaction. However, the generalizability of findings was limited by the small sample sizes and variability in study designs. (4) Conclusions: Non-pharmacological interventions appear effective in managing pediatric chronic pain, offering improvements in pain reduction and quality of life. Further research is needed to optimize these approaches and confirm their long-term benefits across diverse populations. These interventions represent promising alternatives or complements to pharmacological treatments in pediatric pain management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Sustainable Healthcare for Children)
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