The Child Life Value Proposition Statement details the evidence-based outcomes associated with child life intervention, articulated for an audience primarily composed of healthcare administrators, executives, and other high-level decision-makers.
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Children today confront a wide variety of stressful and potentially traumatic events that may overwhelm their natural ability to cope and heal. Difficult or unexpected experiences, such as chronic illness, hospitalization, the death of a loved one, or the aftermath of violent acts or natural disasters are upsetting for everyone involved. Children are particularly vulnerable, and parents or other responsible adults may feel unsure of their ability to help children to successfully understand and manage these experiences. Because children process information from the world around them much differently than adults, they have distinct needs for managing the effects of stress and trauma. Without the assistance of a professional who understands their unique perspective, children of all ages may experience emotions such as fear, shame, confusion and loneliness, which can inhibit their natural development, and have lasting negative effects on their wellbeing. Child life specialists are trained professionals with expertise in helping children and their families overcome life’s most challenging events, and the importance of their services has been well documented. The following are just a few resources highlighting the need for child life services in hospitals and a variety of other settings.
A new AAP policy statement, “Child Life Services,” to be published in the January 2021 issue of Pediatrics (available online Dec. 28), updates the AAP’s 2014 policy on child life with new data, research, and information about the value of child life and the continued expansion of child life services beyond inpatient hospitals. The report cites a variety of research supporting the efficacy and value of child life specialists, offers several suggestions for how to expand child life services, and concludes with this statement:
Child life services are associated with improved quality, outcomes, and patient and family experiences as well as decreased costs in pediatric care. There is evidence that child life services help to contain costs by reducing the length of stay, decreasing the need for sedation and analgesics, and increasing patient satisfaction ratings.
Read the complete AAP Policy Statement on Child Life Services now.
The new Policy Statement on Child Life Services was recently released by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). An abstract of the statement appears in the May 2014 issue of Pediatrics, the peer-reviewed, scientific journal of the AAP. The revised policy statement includes strong recommendations for the inclusion of child life services across many different settings, and concludes:
Child life services should be delivered as part of an integrated patient- and family-centered model of care and included as a quality indicator in the delivery of services for children and families in health care settings.
Child life specialists recognize that clinical care and decision-making must be grounded in evidence-based practice. Evidence-based practice represents an integration of clinical experience, the best available research, and patient preference/needs. The series is intended to provide child life professionals with the evidence they need to continually advance quality of practice and to communicate with others about child life work.
ACLP has funded two major research projects investigating the clinical and economic efficacy of child life services in health care: one on the effectiveness of child life in MRI studies at Children’s National Health System in Washington, DC, and another on the value of play at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. Here are the summaries of the findings: The Impact of a Play-based Procedural Preparation and Support Intervention for Children Undergoing Cranial Radiation for Treatment of a Central Nervous System Tour Conducted at St Jude Children's Research Hospital The Economic Value of a Child Life Program for non-sedated MR Imaging Conducted at Children's National Health System