"Samen op Koers" (Together on course): A multicenter trial on the effectiveness of a group intervention for chronically ill youth and their parents. (WC2009-043)
Background
Starting date: 01/12/2008Background
Advances in pediatrics during the past decennia have resulted in an increase in the prevalence of chronic health conditions in children and adolescents (Mokkink et al., 2007). Furthermore, children with a chronic illness are twice as likely to develop psychosocial problems as healthy children (LeBlanc et al., 2003), leading to a greater use of mental health care (Rosina et al., 2003). Therefore, a standardized group based intervention named ‘Op Koers’ was developed in the Emma’s Children Hospital - AMC to prevent this vulnerable group from psychosocial problems. To enhance the effect of the intervention a complementary program for parents has been developed to achieve long term effects. The aim of the study is to investigate the effects of the ‘Op Koers’ program, and the additional parent program, on social-emotional development in children with a chronic illness in a randomized controlled trial.