Healthcare 2022, 10, 2034. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10102034 www.mdpi.com/journal/healthcare
Review
Reducing Psychological Impacts on Children with Chronic
Disease via Family Empowerment: A Scoping Review
Ai Mardhiyah
1,2,
*, Santhna Letcmi Panduragan
3
and Henny Suzana Mediani
2
1
Faculty of Health Science, Lincoln University College, Kota Bharu 15200, Malaysia
2
Department of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
3
Faculty of Nursing, Lincoln University College, Kota Bharu 15200, Malaysia
* Correspondence: ai.mardhiyah@unpad.ac.id; Tel.: +60-3-7806-3478
Abstract: Chronic diseases cause physical and psychological impacts on sufferers. In dealing with
illness, the family is not involved in the treatment of chronic diseases. Children also do not receive
support from their families in dealing with their illness. Family empowerment is an important thing
to implement in treating children with chronic diseases. The purpose of this study was to explore
family empowerment interventions as potential methods to reduce the impact of chronic disease.
This study used the scoping review method. A literature review was conducted via CINAHL, Pub-
Med, and ProQuest databases. The keywords used in English were “family empowerment OR fam-
ily center empowerment” AND “child OR children” AND “chronic disease”. The criteria for articles
in this study were full text, free access, randomized control trial or quasi-experiment research de-
sign, English language, population and samples of chronic disease, and the publication period of
the last 10 years (2013–2022). We found nine articles that used a family empowerment intervention
in an effort to reduce the impact of chronic disease on children. Most of the study designs were
randomized control trial and quasi-experiment. Some of the benefits of family empowerment inter-
ventions were quality of life, family care, and self-ability. The interventions helped the families to
be empowered and actively participate in caring for children with chronic diseases. There were nine
articles that discussed family empowerment interventions that have an impact in dealing with the
impact of chronic disease on children, namely improving quality of life, family care, and self-ability.
Keywords: children; chronic disease; family empowerment
1. Introduction
Chronic disease is a non-communicable disease that can cause death and has a long
duration, and develops slowly. The causes of chronic disease are a combination of physi-
ological, genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors [1]. The WHO (2018) has stated
that there will be an epidemiological transition from infectious diseases to non-communi-
cable diseases in 2030 [2]. Several types of chronic diseases cause limitations and disabil-
ities in sufferers [3]. Chronic disease can lead to hospitalization due to limitations in daily
activities [4]. Children who are hospitalized today are experiencing more serious and
complex problems, and often children who experience long-term hospitalization are at
high risk of experiencing disturbances in child development [5].
Chronic diseases include hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cancer, kidney failure, and
so on. Chronic diseases kill more than 36 million people every year. Deaths due to cardi-
ovascular disease are mostly caused by PTMs and affect as many as 17.3 million people
per year, followed by cancer (7.6 million), respiratory disease (4.2 million), and DM (1.3
million). These four groups of disease types cause about 80% of all PTM deaths [6].
Chronic kidney disease affects an average of 10% of the population worldwide—the In-
donesian Renal Registry (IRR) noted that in 2015 there were 30,544 active patients under-
going hemodialysis, most of whom were chronic kidney failure patients [7].
Citation: Mardhiyah, A.;
Panduragan, S.L.; Mediani, H.S.
Reducing Psychological Impacts on
Children with Chronic Disease via
Family Empowerment: A Scoping
Review. Healthcare 2022, 10, 2034.
https://doi.org/10.3390/
healthcare10102034
Academic Editor: César Leal-Costa
Received: 6 August 2022
Accepted: 12 October 2022
Published: 14 October 2022
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