Play-Based Interventions Delivered by Child Life Specialists: Teachable Moments for Youth With Type 1 Diabetes.
Rebecca Ortiz La Banca, Deborah A Butler, Lisa K Volkening and 1 others
PMID 32249031WHAT IT FOUND
Families reported greater support (93%) and better lab experiences (88%) from a Child Life play program in pediatric diabetes care.
This reports satisfaction and activities, not diabetes control outcomes.
Key findings
01In a satisfaction survey of 702 families, 93% reported increased support from Child Life specialists and greater satisfaction with clinic visits.
0288% of families said their child's lab experience was superior to previous experiences.
03Over 16 years, youth received 43,549 interventions; the most common were developmentally appropriate play (45%) and medical play (19%).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The satisfaction survey had no comparison group, so it cannot show what the Child Life program changed. The paper does not report how many surveys were sent or returned, so the 702 families may not represent all families. The satisfaction survey was created by the coauthors, and no validation is reported. Children often received more than one intervention per visit, so the contribution of any single activity cannot be separated. The surveyed children were mainly school aged and had type 1 diabetes for a short time, so it says little about adolescents, longer diabetes duration, or other conditions. The study was done in one pediatric diabetes clinic over 16 years with staff turnover, so it may not apply to other settings. The paper reports satisfaction and activity counts, not diabetes control, clinic attendance, or technology uptake.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The article is tagged as NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that play-based Child Life interventions improve diabetes control, clinic attendance, or technology acceptance. The paper reports family satisfaction and intervention counts, with no comparison group and no diabetes clinical outcomes.