Webinář: Parents of Children with Complex Medical Needs: Toward an Integrated Behavioral Health Approach

The number of children living with medical complexity in the United States increases each year due to advances in medicine. These children live with serious chronic conditions, significant functional limitations and the support of medical technology such as feeding tubes and tracheostomies. Their parents face caregiver burdens (often taking on medical tasks for which they are not trained), the necessity of advocating for their child’s essential healthcare needs and coordinating many services within and outside the hospital. Parents may experience psychological distress in the form of anxiety, depression, and chronic and traumatic stress.  While healthcare systems have not yet established consistent approaches to recognizing and treating parents’ needs, providers can address the unique challenges of this population of parents and advocate for system changes in this area.

The purpose of this talk is to highlight the growing population of parents as long-term caregivers who experience significant psychological distress and trauma; to offer the most advanced guidance to all providers about how to recognize and treat this population; and to offer our own leadership experiences within the hospital setting to improve care for children and their families.

Learning Objectives