Experiences of children with chronic illness: A qualitative evaluation of a children's mental skills program.

Children with chronic illness are confronted with a variety of acute and chronic stressors. As a result, they require coping strategies that can be used successfully during extremely stressful situations. Mental skills training programs teach children stress management and relaxation techniques that may be used during stressful encounters. The primary purpose of this multiple case study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Orlick's Feeling Great Program in teaching children with chronic illness to deal successfully with stress and find highlights. Qualitative research methods were used to explore factors related to the process of learning mental skills, including types of skills used most often, the influence of context, and factors that effect skill development. Four children receiving treatment for cancer between the ages of 7--9 learned techniques such as muscle relaxation, diaphragm breathing and imagery. Data collection included participant observation, field notes, interview data and highlight journals. Program participants perceived the program to be effective in fostering the development of improved coping skills for use within a variety of situations. During acute stressors, such as painful medical procedures, children and parents reported fewer incidents of reactive coping behaviors, such as crying, and described an increased number of proactive coping responses, such as deep breathing. Furthermore, children learned to cope effectively with chronic stressors, such as feelings of anxiety, nausea and treatment side effects