Psychosocial Interventions for Children and Adolescents with Chronic or Long-Term Health Conditions

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last decade, the number of children and adolescents living with chronic (or long-term) health conditions has risen worldwide. Living with a chronic health condition in childhood can be a cause for significant burden and persistent stress for children, adolescents and their families, and can result in lasting emotional and social consequences that impact daily life, functioning and wellbeing. For instance, many children and adolescents with chronic health conditions struggle with self-esteem, body image, social role definitions, peer-related issues, and can experience difficulty in coping emotionally with their condition, thus placing them at an increased risk of suffering from psychological disorders. Because the successful management of chronic health conditions in childhood and adolescence can significantly impact condition outcomes in adulthood, focusing on psychosocial interventions in childhood and adolescence is of increasing importance.

The goal of this Special Issue in Children is to highlight the recent advances in psychosocial interventions for children and adolescents living with a range of chronic health conditions. We welcome original research considering novel approaches, including user-centred design and technology-based interventions, in which the primary target is the child and/or adolescent, with a focus on improving their clinical and psychosocial functioning outcomes. Recognising the impact childhood chronic illness can have on the entire family system, we welcome intervention approaches that also include parents and/or other extended family members, and/or peer involvement. We also invite submissions that report on the intervention development and mapping process and/or methodological papers that report on process evaluations, for example. Additionally, we welcome original systematic reviews of psychosocial interventions for childhood chronic health conditions that identify gaps in the knowledge and/or review the scientific development of interventions for children and adolescents with chronic health conditions.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Veronica Lambert
Prof. Dr. Veronica Swallow
Guest Editors

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