Family functioning guidelines for the care of people with spina bifida.
Tessa K Kritikos, Grayson N Holmbeck
PMID 33285643WHAT IT FOUND
Expert consensus guidelines recommend assessing family dynamics, stress, and barriers to medical self-management across spina bifida age groups.
They suggest referring to OT and PT for self-care. These are expert recommendations, not tested interventions.
Key findings
01The guidelines recommend assessing a family's ability to carry out medical regimens and identifying possible barriers to adherence.
02The guidelines recommend addressing self-care abilities in the family context and referring to OT and PT.
03The guidelines recommend ongoing support and counseling for parents, the child, and siblings, and planning for transition to adult health care.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
This is a guideline and consensus document, not a trial or cohort study, so it does not show that the recommended steps improve family functioning or patient outcomes. The supplied text does not report how many studies were reviewed, which studies were included, or how evidence was graded for each recommendation. The recommendations are broad and depend on local resources such as counseling, financial support, school services, and transition programs. The guidelines are specific to spina bifida, so they do not establish what should be done for other pediatric disabilities.
Declared interests
The supplied article text does not include a conflicts of interest or funding declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these recommendations as proof that family-focused counseling, OT or PT referral, or autonomy training improves spina bifida outcomes. The paper presents expert consensus guidelines, not tested interventions with measured effects.