Nursing research and the care of chronically ill and disabled children

This is a review of a group of studies comprising the nursing research literature concerning the care of chronically ill and disabled children and their families. Six purposively selected nursing journals were examined for articles published over an 8-year period (1980 to 1987), in order to investigate the scientific potential of this research in building a knowledge base for practice. The descriptive studies provide many areas for consideration in nursing assessments, particularly psychosocial aspects. However, the relatively few experimental studies of nursing interventions provide only fragments of research findings for direct application into practice. It was concluded that this body of research is in its early stages of development. Current gaps and possible future directions for nursing research are wide-ranging.