The quality of life for a child with a chronic illness depends on various factors, including the illness's severity, medical treatments, psychosocial and educational support, resource availability, and community involvement. These biopsychosocial factors become significant when the child receives care at home. This article presents and evaluates a…

Raising a child with a lifelong disability requires time, attention, and the development of skills to assist the child to be healthy and participate in usual childhood activities. Caring needs may include providing medical care, education, and support. The study aimed to determine the educational system and support systems for children with…

Purpose: Although caregivers desire specific information about hospice programs, there is little descriptive information available. We characterized agencies that provide formal or informal hospice care in the United States according to four types of services considered important by caregivers: medications and treatments; rehabilitative care;…

A social anthropologist and a child psychologist interviewed 171 Norwegian families with preschool children having nine different handicaps regarding consequences of the handicap for the family, respite care assistance, kindergartens, home help, community aid, and financial assistance. Findings indicated the major problem to be underutilization of…

The ability to function independently in the later years has been defined as a combination of capability and support. To examine factors affecting older adults' use of services provided in an accommodating environment, 52 physically independent residents of an Arizona apartment complex for the elderly were surveyed. Time spent living in the…

A survey of 116 early intervention service providers for young children with disabilities examined their experiences and perceptions of providing services in natural environments such as the home, day-care center, restaurants, play grounds, etc. A questionnaire, "The Natural Environment Questionnaire," was developed which included questions with…

Evaluates the Family Program, a family-centered program in northern Virginia which provides intensive in-home support and treatment to families with children in the custody of county child welfare departments. The sample comprises 42 closed cases. Results show that families that are at risk benefit significantly from extensive support systems.…

A study of 16 children (ages 2-4) with autism and pervasive developmental disorders found that children involved in home-based services before and after age 3 all demonstrated significant changes on six developmental domains but there were no significant differences between age groups. Improvement in communication, cognitive and social-emotional…