Parent's Perspectives on How They Cope With the Impact on Their Family of a Child With Heart Disease.

Purpose: Studies of familial coping with a child's chronic condition have highlighted psychological distress; family functioning; and quality of life; as issues that demand coping strategies. There are conflicting findings on impact and coping and a paucity of information about the specific coping challenges for parents of a child with heart disease, with few qualitative studies in this area. The purpose of the study was to explore the way parents coped with their child's heart condition as it impacted on different domains of family functioning.

Parent education programmes for special health care needs children: a systematic review.

Aims And Objectives: The aim of this review was to examine parent education programmes for families with children with special health care needs, to better design interventions focusing on the psychosocial aspects of living with a child's chronic condition.

Background: Studies of familial coping with children with special health care needs indicate high levels of parenting stress, with families with children with special health care needs at risk of major psychological and social disturbances and financial strain. Despite increased knowledge of the factors affecting children with special health care needs themselves, evidence for the effectiveness of preventative and treatment interventions in the form of parent education programmes remains limited.

Familial impact and coping with child heart disease: a systematic review.

Families of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) cope differently depending on individual and familial factors beyond the severity of the child's condition. Recent research has shifted from an emphasis on the psychopathology of family functioning to a focus on the resilience of families in coping with the challenges presented by a young child's condition. The increasing number of studies on the relationship between psychological adaptation, parental coping and parenting practices and quality of life in families of children with CHD necessitates an in-depth re-exploration.