Abstracts

Rationale: Despite the fact that child life services have existed since the 1920s, until recently there have only been a few studies examining the profession of child life and its impact on patient care and satisfaction.  Certified child life specialists (CCLS) offer a unique set of skills in that they are trained to anticipate psychosocial and behavioral issues that may arise during the hospital admission that may hinder a patient’s care. The goal of this study was to determine the effectiveness of adding a CCLS to the epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) team on the patient (both children and adults with intellectual disability), patient families, and clinical staff experience.  Methods: Over a six-month period we integrated a CCLS into the EMU for all children as well as for adults with intellectual disability. During that time we surveyed families and patients to determine the impact of child life services on their hospital stay. EMU staff also completed questionnaires to determine perceived impact from the CCLS. Results: In total, 32 patients and their caregiver received a copy of the questionnaire. The caregivers for five adult participants and 12 pediatric participants completed the questionnaires. All 17 of the families who responded found the presence of the CCLS to be beneficial.  CCLS involvement in patient care led to decreased patient anxiety, increased ability to cope with stressful health care experiences, and had a positive impact on the patient’s hospitalization. (Figure 1)In total, 27 out of the 44 staff members in the EMU completed both the pre- and post- child life intervention questionnaires. Overall, 26 out of 27 staff members reported that support from the CCLS improved their job performance. The staff reported decreased stress and increased efficiency with the presence of the CCLS. (Figure 2) Conclusions: This study highlights the positive impact that CCLS can have on children, adults with intellectual disability, and the staff who provide their care in the EMU.  Funding: None