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. 2020 Jan 9;1(1):8-21.
doi: 10.5334/cie.2. eCollection 2020.

A Multidisciplinary Educational Approach for Children With Chronic Illness: An Intervention Case Study

Christopher Harden  1 , Hannah Rea  2 , Iris Buchanan-Perry  1   3 , Beatrice Gee  1   3 , Alcuin Johnson  1   4
Affiliations

A Multidisciplinary Educational Approach for Children With Chronic Illness: An Intervention Case Study

Christopher Harden et al. Contin Educ. .

Abstract

Chronic illness requires frequent medical treatments and lifestyle restrictions that increase academic and socioemotional stressors for families. This paper presents academic intervention recommendations based on a hospital's approach to improving educational outcomes for children with chronic illness. A case study on an intervention for a girl with sickle cell disease (SCD) and a history of stroke. SCD is a relatively common chronic illness that has physical and psychosocial side effects that are central to other chronic illnesses (Platt, Eckman, & Hsu, 2016). A quality improvement approach resulted in five cycles of interventions that were assessed with both qualitative and quantitative measures. The initial strategy of improving academics through collaboration among the school, hospital, and family resulted in psychosocial, but not academic, improvements. Frequent tutoring, which was most achievable using online platforms, resulted in the greatest gains. The girl passed previously failed classes and advanced to the next grade. Recommendations for how to improve academic outcomes for children with chronic illness using the presented intervention strategies are discussed.

Keywords: Chronic illness; Collaborative education; Community tutoring; Opportunity gap; Sickle Cell Disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

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