A Multidisciplinary Educational Approach for Children With Chronic Illness: An Intervention Case Study

• Main Authors: Christopher Harden, Hannah Rea, Iris Buchanan-Perry, Beatrice Gee, Alcuin Johnson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ubiquity Press 2020-01-01
• Series: Continuity in Education
• Subjects: opportunity gap; chronic illness; sickle cell disease; collaborative education; community tutoring
• Online Access: https://continuityineducation.org/articles/2

Chronic illness requires frequent medical treatments and lifestyle restrictions that increase academic and socioemotional stressors for families. This paper presents academic intervention recommendations based on a hospital’s approach to improving educational outcomes for children with chronic illness. A case study on an intervention for a girl with sickle cell disease (SCD) and a history of stroke. SCD is a relatively common chronic illness that has physical and psychosocial side effects that are central to other chronic illnesses (Platt, Eckman, & Hsu, 2016). A quality improvement approach resulted in five cycles of interventions that were assessed with both qualitative and quantitative measures. The initial strategy of improving academics through collaboration among the school, hospital, and family resulted in psychosocial, but not academic, improvements. Frequent tutoring, which was most achievable using online platforms, resulted in the greatest gains. The girl passed previously failed classes and advanced to the next grade. Recommendations for how to improve academic outcomes for children with chronic illness using the presented intervention strategies are discussed.