Standards of psychosocial care for children and families: Improving care in pediatrics

Many children and adolescents and their families have contact with healthcare systems related to serious illnesses and injuries each year. The many challenges and potentially traumatic aspects of these conditions for children and their families are well known and addressed by psychologists as they conduct research and provide clinical care to address the psychosocial aspects of these conditions. The publication of guidelines for evidence-based psychosocial care is a relatively new focus. This presentation will describe the process of developing psychosocial standards of care, using the example of childhood cancer, review the areas covered by the standards, and summarize subsequent steps towards the implementation of the Standards. The relevance of the Standards for other groups of patients and their applicability internationally will be discussed.

Anne E. Kazak, PhD, is the Director of the Center for Healthcare Delivery Science at Nemours Children’s Health System, based at Nemours/Alfred I. du Pont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware. She is Co-Director of the Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress, at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Anne E. Kazak is Professor of the Department of Pediatrics of Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and affiliated Professor at the University of Delaware. Furthermore, she is a Emeritus Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the American Psychologist and a past Editor of Health Psychology, the Journal of Family Psychology, and the Journal of Pediatric Psychology. In 2016, she was awarded by the American Psychological Association a Presidential Citation for her eminent roles as an experienced clinician, researcher, educator, administrator and editor. She also received a Senior Mentoring Award from the National Cancer Institute, and the American Psychological Foundation Cummings PSYCHE Prize (2009) for integrated care. Her research focuses on interventions to enhance adaptive functioning and reduce child and family distress associated with serious pediatric illnesses.