Child life in the 1990s: changing roles, changing times

This article presents an overview of the many changes that have occurred in the health care delivery system in the United States over the past few decades and their impact on the child life profession. It focuses upon four key factors: changing technology, rising health care costs, risk management and liability, and alternative health care delivery systems. Throughout the discussion, potential threats to the traditional child life model are described, as well as opportunities for the survival, growth, and expansion of the child life profession and its commitment to the provision of high-quality psychosocial care for children in health care settings.