Insights into pediatric chronic disease education initiatives: Children, adolescents and families' perspectives. A scoping review.

Abstract

This study aimed to identify, examine, and conceptually map the literature on how children and adolescents with chronic health conditions and their families experience educational initiatives in healthcare, in order to uncover knowledge gaps and guide future research METHOD: We followed the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines for conducting and reporting scoping reviews. We identified the population, concept, and context on which to focus this review and systematically searched the Medline, CINAHL, and Web of Science databases. We followed the methodology outlined by Peters et al. (2021), employing conceptual mapping to guide the narrative synthesis. We included 14 sources covering 18 years. Most sources were published between 2016 and 2020. Three conceptual maps emerged: 1) Building confidence in healthcare: The role of training, peer-education, and multidisciplinary interventions. 2) Empowered together: Peer-education and support fuels motivation and success and 3) Beyond the diagnosis: How peer-education boosts health awareness CONCLUSION: The review highlights the importance of integrating diverse educational approaches, optimizing parental involvement, and utilizing multidisciplinary teams to deliver comprehensive health literacy education. Furthermore, it emphasizes the need for individualized approaches tailored to the specific needs of families, children/adolescents considering their age and illness. Our findings underscore the need for continued research and implementation of strategies that promote health-literacy and empower children and adolescents to manage their health. Furthermore, we suggest developing integrated, context-sensitive services, enhancing peer and parental support, and involving healthcare professionals to improve educational initiatives and care delivery. Our findings underscore the need for continued research and implementation of strategies that promote health-literacy and empower children and adolescents to manage their health. Furthermore, we suggest developing integrated, context-sensitive services, enhancing peer and parental support, and involving healthcare professionals to improve educational initiatives and care delivery.