Publication
Feasibility and acceptability of a digital storytelling intervention for children with serious illness
Cho E, Gilmer M, Dietrich M, Bakitas M, Carpenter L, Hills T, Akard T · Journal of Pediatric Nursing · 2025
Background The need for home-based palliative care is significant for the growing population of children with serious, advanced conditions, yet interventions offered in home settings remain limited. Access disparities, especially for rural families, further magnify these risks. Our home-based digital storytelling intervention has demonstrated benefits for children with advanced cancer and their parents and may be suitable for children with other advanced conditions, but it has not yet been tested in non-cancer pediatric populations. Purpose This study tested the feasibility of our adapted web-based storytelling intervention for children (ages 8–17) with serious advanced illnesses, including rural and non-rural families. Methods A single-group pre- and post-test design was used. Eligible children were 8 to 17 years of age with a serious medical diagnosis according to parent reports. Child-parent dyads used an intervention website that guided the creation of a digital storyboard. Pre- and post-intervention assessments, along with feasibility benchmarks, were collected. Results Of 22 enrolled dyads, 10 dyads (45.45 %) completed all study activities. Benchmarks related to adherence, barriers, and data collection were successfully achieved, whereas benchmarks for recruitment, retention, satisfaction, and perceived benefits were not met. Participant feedback was positive, and results suggest potential benefits for parent-child communication, family relationships, and children’s sense of meaning and purpose. Conclusions Future research should refine recruitment strategies and optimize digital legacy interventions to meet the diverse needs of families managing serious pediatric diagnoses. Implications Nurses are uniquely positioned to identify patients likely to benefit and to support implementation of feasible, home-based storytelling interventions.
Synced from the TRENDS in Pediatric Palliative Care Zotero library, curated by The Siden Research Team. ICPCN does not host or verify the full text.