Cheryl Murray
April 30, 2007
Preliminary Research Draft - the
Business Side of Child Life
As I very much discovered during my comprehensive
exam process, there is not much research related to the field of Child
Life. Also, as discussed in class, as health care funding
decreases, hospitals will continue to try to cut costs in the
hospital. For a executive, business-minded board member making
financial decisions for a hospital, Child Life may seem like one of the
areas that needs to be cut. I think that research can be used as
rationale for the continuation of Child Life in a hospital setting.
To do this kind of research, I would want to use a
variety of measures, both qualitative and quantitative. I would
use surveys to give to patients (who are old enough), parents, family
members, doctors, nurses, and other medical staff to assess their
experiences with Child Life. I would also want to use medical
data, such as blood pressure, heart rate, etc. as support as
well. Interviews could also be conducted with patients and
families regarding their experiences in the hospital with Child
Life. I would probably do this research in about 10 different
hospitals, sampling various departments within each hospital.
This data could then be compiled to show how and why Child Life should
remain in the hospital setting.
INTRODUCTION
(Introduce topic and cite with appropriate sources) Here, I would
want to discuss in general what Child Life does. I would talk
about the services that Child Life provides to children and families in
the hospital. I would also want to discuss the benefits that can
be a result of Child Life interacting with children and families.
I would want to discuss child and family development theories to
address why the Child Life role is important from a developmental
perspective. I would cite sources appropriately including child
health articles, child development theorists, and Child Life
articles.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Two questions arise.
• First, is Child Life effective?
• Second, is Child Life “worth” the money and funding
that hospitals put into the program?
METHODOLOGY
Sampling
Samples could potentially come from one hospital that has a strong
Child Life program and one that does not or does not have a program at
all. This may be difficult considering the kind of research
questions which we are seeking to answer. However, it might be
helpful to compare a hospital that had Child Life with one that did
not. Sampling would include various patients, families, doctors,
and other staff from various areas in the hospital (e.g. pre-surgery,
ER, oncology, basic unit, etc.).
Operationalization
• First, is Child Life effective? I could use
surveys to measure the feeling people have after receiving Child Life
services. I could give out surveys to children and families after
they have left the hospital. I could also administer oral surveys
after a certain service, such a preparation for a procedure, coping
during a painful procedure, or advocating for child and family’s
needs. I could also interview staff, such as doctors or nurses,
to see if they see a difference in children and families when Child
Life is involved. Often doctors and nurses request Child Life to
be present for certain events and procedures. This kind of
information would help to support this effectiveness argument.
Quotes from children and families would be useful for this section.
• Second, is Child Life “worth” the money and funding
that hospitals put into the program? As Dr. Witt said, there would have
to be certain goals defined for Child Life and an anaylsis of if and
how those goals are being met. Information claiming that Child
Life exceeds their goals would also be helpful. Decrease in
hospital stay, more rapid recovery, decrease in blood pressure, etc.
are all examples of data which could be used to promote this
section. Again, doctor and nurses inputs about how worthwhile
Child Life is in the hospital would also be helpful. Chart notes
from Child Life Specialists detailing the services they provide daily
would be good information as well.
Statistical Analysis
As Dr. Witt stated, this section might be
difficult. Medical information, such as heart rates and blood
pressure could be compared. Also, length of stay in the hospital
could be noted as well. If a survey is given to children and
families as they leave the hospital, answers from the survey could be
analyzed in statistical form.
REFERENCES
Barkley, M. E. & Stephens, B. K. (2000). Comfort measures
during invasive procedures: The role of the Child Life
Specialist. Child Life Focus, 2, (1), 1-4).
Brewer, S., Gleditsch, S. L., Syblik, D., Tietjens, M.E. & Vacik,
H.W. (2006). Pediatric anxiety:
Child Life intervention in day surgery. Journal of Pediatric
Nursing, 21(1), 13- 22.
Dixon, W. E. (2003). Twenty Studies that Revolutionized Child
Psychology. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Galvin, E., et al. (2000). Challenging the Precepts of Family-Centered
Care: Testing a Philosophy. Pediatric Nursing, 26(6), 625-632.
Gaynard, et al. (1998). Psychosocial Care of Children in
Hospitals: A Clinical Practice manual from the ACCH Child Life
Research Project. New Jersey: CLC, Inc.
Hockenberrry, M.J. (2005). Wong’s Essentials of Pediatric
Nursing, Seventh Edition. Missouri: Mosby, Inc.
Rubin, S. (1992). What’s in a name? Child Life and the play
lady legacy. Children’s Health Care, 21(1),
4-13.
Skalko, T. K. (1984). Documentation: Key to survival in
Child Life services. Children’s Health Care,
13(2), 85-88.
Thomas, R. M. (2005). Comparing Theories of Child
Development. California: Wadsworth Publishing
Company.
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Cheryl Murray
April 4, 2007
Preliminary Research
Draft
As
I very much discovered during my comprehensive exam process, there is
not much
research related to the field of Child Life.
Also, as discussed in class, as health care funding decreases,
hospitals
will continue to try to cut costs in the hospital.
For a executive, business-minded board member
making financial decisions for a hospital, Child Life may seem like one
of the
areas that needs to be cut. I think that
research can be used as rationale for the continuation of Child Life in
a
hospital setting.
To
do this kind of research, I would want to use a variety of measures,
both
qualitative and quantitative. I would
use surveys to give to patients (who are old enough), parents, family
members,
doctors, nurses, and other medical staff to assess their experiences
with Child
Life. I would also want to use medical
data, such as blood pressure, heart rate, etc. as support as well. Interviews could also be conducted with
patients and families regarding their experiences in the hospital with
Child
Life. I would probably do this research
in about 10 different hospitals, sampling various departments within
each
hospital. This data could then be
compiled to show how and why Child Life should remain in the hospital
setting.
BUSINESS LOOK AT CHILD LIFE
(Introduce topic and cite with appropriate sources)
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Two questions arise.
- First, is Child Life effective?
- Second, is Child Life “worth” the
money and funding that hospitals put into the program?
METHODOLOGY
Sampling
Samples could potentially come from one hospital that has a strong
Child
Life program and one that does not or does not have a program at all. More on this later
Think about some kind of custoer
satisfaction survey - after a short training period for the Child Life
department staff dealing with satisfying the parents of children in the
hospital,
start gathering surveys into a
database.
Operationalization
- First, is Child Life effective? Here think about measuring
effectiveness, maybe in terms of the feeling people have about the
service they've received from Child Life. You'll have to define the
services you provide based on a set of goals - one goal or objective
for each service. There are ways to have the staff point out this
out to parents each time a particular service is provided. Use
the method good professors use to increase their teaching effectiveness.
- Second, is Child Life “worth” the
money and funding that hospitals put into the program? Here, the worth of CLS is defined in
terms of whether nor not the department is meeting or exceeding their
goals. You can also add those other measures - how much is gained by
the hospital in terms of time in the hospital and any savings gained by
CLS (such as services provided at bargain rates. Also, have some input
from nurses and physicians on the department's worth - statements
Statistical Analysis
Comparative data might be
difficult - since you are making an argument based on one hospital's
experience with cls. So average scores, like the IDEA teaching
evaluations might work.
REFERENCES
What's
in a Name? Child Life and the Play Lady Legacy
Children's
Health Care, Vol. 21, Issue: 1, January 1992. pp. 4-13
Rubin,
Stefi
Abstract: Child life specialists can now earn a
nationally recognized credential
as a "Certified Child Life Specialist" from the Child Life Certifying
Commission Yet, uncertainties linger about the nature of the child life
specialist's identity roles, and status among health care professionals
This article highlights the historical contexts within which a series
of significant changes occurred in the profession's name How Emma Plank
and Thest Bergmann, two pioneering authors in the field, influenced and…
Documentation:
Key to Survival in Child Life Services
Children's
Health Care, Vol. 13, Issue: 2, September 1984. pp.
85-88 Skalko,
Thomas K.
With the increased demands placed on hospital resources, the need for a
comprehensive documentation and program accountability system becomes
paramount In addition to the provision of services, the child life
specialist must generate written program descriptions and policy and
procedure manuals, participate actively m patient charting, maintain
quantitative records of clientele served, and perform program
evaluation It is only through such comprehensive documentation efforts
that child life…
Pediatric
Anxiety: Child Life Intervention in Day Surgery
Journal
of Pediatric Nursing, Vol. 21, Issue: 1, February, 2006. pp.
13-22 Brewer,
Stephanie; Gleditsch,
Shannon L.; Syblik,
Dorothy; Tietjens,
Mary E.; Vacik,
Heidi W.
Although many hospitals offer a surgical
preparation program to
children and families, minimal research has been conducted specifically
on preparation by child life specialists. The purpose of this
double-blind intervention study was to determine if children prepared
for day surgery by a child life specialist exhibited less anxiety than
those who received routine standard of care. One hundred forty-two
children, aged between 5 and 11 years old, undergoing elective
otolaryngology surgery…