Canada’s increasingly diverse population requires healthcare providers to become responsive to cultural differences within the provision of healthcare services, including Child Life Specialists (CLSs), who are committed to providing psychosocial and family- centered care to hospitalized children and their families. A fundamental process of family- centered care involves responding to the ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic diversity of patients and their families. The field of child life generally remains under-researched and, in particular, studies to support the link between child life practice and culturally adapted care are lacking. To address this gap, this study explores the ways in which CLSs perceive and conceptualize the construct of diversity in their practice by utilizing cultural safety as a guiding framework. Through an exploratory research approach, semi-structured interviews with six CLSs working at a prominent children’s hospital in Alberta, Canada, were completed. A thematic analysis of the qualitative data indicated that CLSs conceptualized culture as a broad construct that is not limited to factors associated with ethnicity. Although CLSs also experienced various challenges in their practice as a result of cultural factors, their perceived level of comfort, confidence and desire to overcome such challenges were highly notable. This study also yielded insight into institutional- and practice-level resources and strategies that may improve the ability of CLSs to provide culturally-safe care. / Graduate / 0350 / 0566 / amarensm@uvic.ca

The purposes of this study were to explore the needs and concerns of the siblings of children hospitalized with a chronic illness and to explore the role that Child Life Specialists play in the lives of siblings. Face-to-face and telephone interviews with Child Life Specialists from three central Florida pediatric hospitals were conducted and analyzed. Through these interviews, I gained the perspective of the Child Life Specialist’s role concerning the needs and concerns of siblings as well as their role in meeting those needs. The interviews were tape-recorded and later transcribed and analyzed with a qualitative approach. I predicted that the results would show many similarities among Child Life Specialists' perceptions related to their experiences with siblings and would solidify the role that they play in meeting the needs of siblings. This study validated the worth of the Child Life Specialist in the hospital setting in aiding in the psychosocial development of hospitalized children and their families. I concluded from the data that all of the Child Life Specialists agreed that they were needed in the hospitals to help siblings deal with the psychosocial needs separate from the needs of the hospitalized child. All the Child Life Specialists helped siblings in the hospital; however there was a fair amount of inconsistency regarding how the needs of siblings were met. All the Specialists believed they were relieving anxiety; with differences in the methods to relieve anxiety. They all believed they made a positive impact in the siblings’ hospital experiences with a fair amount of variance in their perceived level of impact. There are very few research studies in the fields of child development and child life regarding psychosocial development of siblings of chronically ill children. Therefore, I felt it pertinent to conduct an exploratory study that would provide relevant and factual information to both fields that could, in turn, inspire future research in both fields. Through this study, I have discovered that Child Life Specialists employ a variety of methods in meeting the needs of siblings of children diagnosed with a chronic illness. I have also discovered that Child Life Specialists perceive themselves as being able to make a positive impact on the coping and psychosocial needs of the siblings of children hospitalized with chronic illness Further research in this area is needed. First and foremost, a study is needed in which the siblings are interviewed so that their needs are correctly identified, and Child Life Specialists can intervene appropriately. Second, this particular study focused on central Florida, and future studies should expand the geographic regions to other areas of the United States. Third, this particular study focused on chronic disease diagnosis of the child in the hospital, and additional studies are needed so that all siblings of all children in the hospital for any reason are studied. Therefore, I predicted that siblings would have different needs of attention from one another, depending on diagnosis of chronically ill sibling and family situation, and that Child Life Specialists would employ a variety of methods in differentiating for and meeting those needs.

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This master thesis focuses on market research of the insurance product "Child Life Insurance", both from the perspective of the offers of insurance companies and from the point of view of demand for the product. This product is primarily used to ensure child protection in the event of death or injury of one or both parents as well as future financial security for the child when they reach the age of majority or more. In the most extensive part of my thesis I decided to examine in detail the range of market insurance products and also the interest of addressed people who are either involved in this product, or might have not heard of it yet. In conclusion, I compared the selected insurance products on a model example.

Thesis--University of Maryland, College Park. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--University of Maryland, College Park. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

abstract: ABSTRACT The experience of grief and loss is a process that can be extremely distressing to anyone, regardless of age. This may be especially true for youth. This study was designed and conducted to determine the effects of a therapy dog as a therapeutic adjunct in Child Life interventions with adolescents experiencing grief and loss. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The intervention consisted of 3 sessions with a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) to address grief. Group 1 (N=14) was the control group, meeting only with the CCLS. Group 2 (N=13) was the experimental group and met with the CCLS with a therapy dog present during the sessions. Participants completed a pre-test and post-test of the Children's Mood Questionnaire. At the end of each session, subjects completed a Therapeutic Engagement Questionnaire. The pet therapy group experienced a significant improvement in mood scores on the Children's Mood Questionnaire following the intervention. However, there were no significant differences between groups on the Therapeutic Engagement Questionnaire during any of the 3 sessions. The data collected from this study indicate that the addition of a therapy dog in grief interventions with adolescents may improve mood outcomes. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.W. Social Work 2011

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