Psychological interventions for mental health disorders in children with chronic physical illness: a systematic...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Psychology
• Child Psychiatry
• Chronic Illness Management

Background:

• Children with chronic physical illnesses experience higher rates of psychiatric symptoms compared to healthy peers.
• Integrated healthcare is crucial for these children, but the efficacy of psychological treatments remains unclear.
• Common mental health disorders in children require effective interventions, especially within the context of chronic conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the evidence for psychological treatments in children with chronic physical illness.
• To determine if established psychological interventions are effective for psychiatric symptoms in this population.
• To identify gaps in the research regarding psychological interventions for pediatric chronic illness.

Main Methods:

• Searched EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL for studies on psychological interventions.
• Included randomized and non-randomized studies of interventions for psychiatric symptoms in children with chronic physical illness.
• Two independent reviewers assessed abstracts, extracted data, and analyzed study quality.

Main Results:

• Ten studies involving 209 children were included.
• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) demonstrated positive outcomes for psychiatric symptoms across all included studies.
• Only two randomized controlled trials, both focusing on depression, were identified.

Conclusions:

• Preliminary evidence suggests CBT is effective for depression and anxiety in children with chronic physical illness.
• The current evidence base is limited, highlighting a need for more robust research.
• Further high-quality randomized controlled trials are necessary to establish definitive efficacy in this population.