EMPIRICALLY VALIDATED FAMILY INTERVENTIONS FOR PEDIATRIC PSYCHOLOGY -SICKLE-CELL DISEASE AS AN EXEMPLAR

Prompted by the growth of managed care and the American Psychological Association's recent guidelines for treatment efficacy studies, we hav e struggled with the challenges associated with devising and implement ing manualized family intervention programs for pediatric patients. Th is manuscript outlines the strengths and challenges of controlled manu al-based family interventions for medically ill children, using pediat ric sickle cell disease (SCD) as an example. A culturally and developm entally sensitive intervention program, designed for the researchers' subject population (African American, low SES, inner city) is discusse d. Possible solutions to the challenges of conducting family-oriented intervention efficacy studies with pediatric populations are presented .