Effects in well-being of granting wishes in seriously-ill hospitalized children

Optimism is expecting good things to occur in one's life. Such positive expectations are associated with higher subjective well-being, even under conditions of stress or adversity. In contrast, pessimists respond to adversity with more intense negative feelings. There are also differences in the manner in which optimists and pessimists try to cope with adversity. Optimists tend to put the best face on the adversity, but they acknowledge its existence and its importance, and they try to do as much as possible to resolve whatever problems can be resolved. Pessimists are more likely to distance themselves from the problem and put off doing anything about it as long as possible. They are also more likely to give up trying, if things remain difficult. Some kinds of problem solution is proactive, engaged in before the problem arises. Optimists also tend to engage in such proactive efforts, including taking actions to minimize various kinds of health risks. Perhaps, as a consequence of these preventive steps, optimists also tend to have better health than pessimists. They seem to heal faster from wounds, and there is some evidence that when they are seriously ill they experience slower disease progression. It has been suggested that optimists sometimes are no better off than pessimists, and sometimes are worse off: that their confidence can get them into situations where it is difficult to cope effectively. Evidence of such negative effects of optimism does exist, but it is relatively sparse.

Download Full-text

Encountering Grief in Patient Care

American Society of Clinical Oncology Educational Book ◽

10.14694/edbook_am.2012.32.302 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. e81-e84

Author(s):

Teresa Gilewski

Keyword(s):

General Pattern ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Care Team ◽

Compassionate Care ◽

Critical Aspect ◽

Psychiatric Intervention ◽

Emotional Level ◽

Dying Patient ◽

Seriously Ill ◽

Insight Into

Overview: Grief is essentially unavoidable and is a normal reaction to loss. Grief may be experienced by patients and their loved ones as well as by physicians and members of the health care team in response to the consequences of illness or death. Grief is typified by certain indicators that may significantly effect one's emotional and physical well-being. Although these indicators tend to follow a general pattern, there is variability among individuals. Complicated grief may require psychiatric intervention. Caring for the seriously ill or dying patient may be particularly challenging from an emotional level and may increase the risk of burnout. Recognition of these emotions is a critical aspect of providing compassionate care on a sustainable level. Various strategies may be beneficial in coping with grief, and the exploration of grief may provide greater insight into the humanistic basis of medicine.

Download Full-text

The hospital designed by hospitalized children and adolescents

Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem ◽

10.1590/0034-7167-2019-0399 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 73 (suppl 4) ◽

Author(s):

Larissa Karoline Dias da Silva Cassemiro ◽

Aline Cristiane Cavicchioli Okido ◽

Maria Cândida de Carvalho Furtado ◽

Regina Aparecida Garcia de Lima

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Physical Environment ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Well Being ◽

Hospitalized Children ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Material Resources ◽

Environmental Theory ◽

Inductive Thematic Analysis

ABSTRACT Objective: to identify, through the contributions of hospitalized children and adolescents, the characteristics they consider necessary for a hospital that promotes well-being and development. Method: descriptive and exploratory study, with qualitative data analysis, carried out with a total of 30 hospitalized children and adolescents. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, mediated by drawing, and analyzed by inductive thematic analysis, supported by the theoretical framework of the humanization of health care and the Florence Nightingale’s Environmental Theory. Results: the designed hospital takes up the principles of Florence Nightingale’s Environmental Theory, as well as one of the guidelines of the National Humanization Policy, the environment, from two perspectives: elements and material resources from the physical environment; elements of comfort and well-being environment. Final considerations: hospitals such as the projected institution corroborate what is recommended in public policies, as they qualify health care.

Download Full-text

Would You Like a Map?

Departures in Critical Qualitative Research ◽

10.1525/dcqr.2016.5.1.23 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 23-36

Author(s):

Lindy Grief Davidson

Keyword(s):

Personal Experience ◽

Classroom Discussion ◽

Ethnographic Research ◽

Hospitalized Children ◽

Research Project ◽

Digital Map ◽

Ethnographic Interviews ◽

Seriously Ill ◽

A Performance

Parents of seriously ill children struggle to traverse both the physical and emotional spaces of hospitals. Off the Map, a performance born out of an ethnographic research project and personal experience, employs a digital map to explore the institutional guidance offered to parents of hospitalized children. In this article, the script from Off the Map is integrated with text from a classroom discussion about the performance, ethnographic interviews with parents of seriously ill children, and a theoretically-grounded discussion of cartography as a performance metaphor. Implications for practice include a call for parents and practitioners to consider multiple ways of mapping healthcare spaces and experiences.

Download Full-text

An Open Trial of Immersive Reality Experiences (IRE) Technology for Reducing Social Isolation and Improving the Social Connectedness and Well-Being of Hospitalized Children and Young People (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.29164 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hiran Thabrew ◽

Christa Fouché ◽

Laura Ann Chubb ◽

Stacey Yates ◽

Harshali Kumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Young People ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Social Inclusion ◽

Social Connectedness ◽

Well Being ◽

Hospitalized Children ◽

Post Intervention ◽

Children And Young People ◽

The Social

BACKGROUND Hospitalized children and young people can feel disconnected from their peers and families, which can in turn predispose them to psychological problems including anxiety and depression. Immersive Reality Experiences (IRE) technology, recently developed by the New Zealand Patience Project Charitable Trust may help to overcome these issues. IRE technology uses immersive 360-degree live-streaming and a virtual reality (VR) headset to enable hospitalized children and young people to connect with cameras located in either their school or home environment. OBJECTIVE This trial was undertaken to 1) quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of IRE technology in reducing social isolation and improving social connectedness and wellbeing using validated outcome measures and 2) expand qualitative findings from a previous smaller ‘proof of concept’ trial to ascertain the views of hospitalized New Zealand children and young people, their caregivers and teachers regarding IRE technology. METHODS An open trial of IRE technology was conducted between December 2019 and December 2020 and included 19 New Zealand children and young people aged 13-18, who had been hospitalized at Starship Hospital, a specialist pediatric hospital in Auckland, for at least 2-weeks. All participants completed the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), an abbreviated version of the Social Connectedness Scale (SCS) and the Social Inclusion Scale (SIS) and at baseline. Ten participants used IRE technology as often as they wished over a 6-week period and completed post-intervention measures. Semi-structured interviews with a subset of participants, caregivers and teachers were conducted immediately post-intervention. RESULTS Participants reported improvements in social inclusion (mean change 3.9, SD 2.8, p 0.057), social connectedness (mean change 14.2, SD 10.0, p 0.002) and well-being (mean change 5.7, SD 4.0, p 0.003). Key themes from interviews with participants, caregivers and teachers were: the importance of support for using IRE technology, connecting vs connectedness, choice and connection, and the value of setting it up and getting it right. A number of recommendations for improving connectedness via IRE and related technology were also provided. CONCLUSIONS IRE technology can improve the social inclusion, social connectedness and well-being of hospitalized New Zealand children and young people. With some technological modifications and simplified implementation, IRE technology could become part of standard care and support hospitalized children and young people in New Zealand and elsewhere to sustain family and peer cohesion, experience fewer psychological problems and more easily return to normal life following completion of treatment. CLINICALTRIAL This study has been registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Network Registry: ACTRN12619000252112p

Download Full-text