STRESS-POINT INTERVENTION FOR PARENTS OF REPEATEDLY HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC CONDITIONS

Little is known about how to assist children with chronic conditions a nd their families cope with repeated hospitalizations. A two-group, pr etest-posttest study was done to determine whether a community-based, stress-point nursing intervention for parents could decrease distress and improve child and family functioning. Fifty participants were rand omly assigned to intervention or usual care control groups. The interv ention focused on specific, parent-verified child and family issues. T hree months after hospitalization, intervention parents had better cop ing and family functioning than those in the usual care group. Interve ntion parents' anxiety was initially higher and then lower. There were no child behavior differences between the groups after hospitalizatio n. Intervention children had no developmental regression at 2 weeks an d better developmental gains 3 months after discharge than the usual c are children. Stress-point intervention for families and their childre n with chronic conditions improved family coping and functioning, and eliminated hospitalization-induced developmental regression. (C) John Wiley & Sons, Inc.