Child and family: Psychosocial considerations and response to illness

This chapter presents guidelines and recommendations for managing emotional and behavioural responses related to children’s experiences of illness. It provides an overview of psychosocial development to best illustrate the relationship between child development and response and adaptation to illness. The relationship is bidirectional – that is, responses are shaped according to the psychodevelopmental stage of the child or young person, and at the same time developmental outcomes are impacted by the experiences and challenges of both acute and chronic illness. The family is also impacted when a child or young person is experiencing illness. Families are central to the care of children – in fact, the paediatric patient and their wider family provide the focus for care. This chapter therefore also explores what it means to be a family and family-centred care, and presents frameworks that can be used to assess and consider the psychosocial needs of families when a child is experiencing illness.