A systematic evidence synthesis of interventions to engage children and young people in consultations about their long-term conditions

Abstract

Children and young people with long-term conditions are not always provided with opportunities to engage fully in consultations. This systematic review examined the effectiveness or worth of methods used to engage children and young people with long-term conditions in their consultations. Searches were undertaken in October 2016 in eight databases and of the grey literature. Two reviewers independently screened the results, extracted data and assessed the quality of the studies using a validated and reliable checklist. A narrative synthesis of mixed method data was undertaken. Twelve studies were included in the review. Interventions used to engage children and young people mainly focused on face-to-face outpatient consultations, with an emphasis on diabetes and asthma. Most of the interventions focused on either improving health professionals’ communication skills or encouraging children’s and young people’s engagement through providing condition-related information or a structured way to be included in consultations. Fewer interventions were child-led or directed towards developing children’s and young people’s skills to become key reporters of their condition. This review has demonstrated that interventions targeted at children and young people with long-term conditions can improve their levels of engagement in consultations. There is a need for more systematic development and robust evaluation of interventions to improve children’s active participation in consultations.