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Children's experiences of cystic fibrosis: a systematic review of qualitative studies
Nathan Jamieson1, Dominic Fitzgerald2, Davinder Singh-Grewal2
1Kids Research Institute.
Insights
Children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF) experience vulnerability and loss of independence. Patient-centered care is crucial for improving their quality of life and treatment outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Genetic Disorders
- Psychosocial Outcomes
Background:
- Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a prevalent, life-shortening genetic disorder.
- CF significantly impacts psychosocial well-being and quality of life in young patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the lived experiences and perspectives of children and adolescents with CF.
- To inform care strategies by focusing on patient-identified priorities.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search across major health databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL) up to April 2013.
- Thematic synthesis methodology applied to analyze findings from 43 included articles.
Main Results:
- Six key themes emerged: resilience, lifestyle restrictions, treatment resentment, temporal limitations, emotional vulnerability, and transplant considerations.
- Participants reported challenges including limited independence, social isolation, treatment burden, and emotional strain.
- Experiences varied across age groups (4-21 years) and countries, highlighting diverse challenges.
Conclusions:
- Children and adolescents with CF often feel vulnerable, disempowered, and isolated.
- Multidisciplinary, patient-centered care models are vital.
- Promoting shared decision-making, self-efficacy, and support for educational/social needs enhances outcomes.
Background And Objective:
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a common life-shortening genetic disease and is associated with poor psychosocial and quality of life outcomes. The objective of this study was to describe the experiences and perspectives of children and adolescents with CF to direct care toward areas that patients regard as important.
Methods:
MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature were searched from inception to April 2013. We used thematic synthesis to analyze the findings.
Results:
Forty-three articles involving 729 participants aged from 4 to 21 years across 10 countries were included. We identified 6 themes: gaining resilience (accelerated maturity and taking responsibility, acceptance of prognosis, regaining control, redefining normality, social support), lifestyle restriction (limited independence, social isolation, falling behind, physical incapacity), resentment of chronic treatment (disempowerment in health management, unrelenting and exhausting therapy, inescapable illness), temporal limitations (taking risks, setting achievable goals, valuing time), emotional vulnerability (being a burden, heightened self-consciousness, financial strain, losing ground, overwhelmed by transition), and transplant expectations and uncertainty (confirmation of disease severity, consequential timeliness, hope and optimism).
Conclusions:
Adolescents and children with CF report a sense of vulnerability, loss of independence and opportunities, isolation, and disempowerment. This reinforces the importance of the current model of multidisciplinary patient-centered care that promotes shared decision-making, control and self-efficacy in treatment management, educational and vocational opportunities, and physical and social functioning, which can lead to optimal treatment, health, and quality of life outcomes.
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