Biomedical subjects

Joan F Bradley

Publications and source records attributed to Joan F Bradley.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Social interactions at school of children who are medically fragile and developmentally delayed.

The social interactions (n = 576) of 11 children who were medically fragile and developmentally delayed (MF/DD) were analyzed. Children interacted with a range of 5-23 people (M = 13.82) during the course of a school day, averaging 52 social encounters (range, 27-75). Most interactions (83.5%) were with adults and often occurred while the adults were providing care and teaching. Only 4.2% of social encounters were initiated solely for play, and 7.2% included play with another activity. Network members initiated most interactions, and 60% were reciprocal. Children who are MF/DD require assistance and support to play and interact with other children.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2005

Normalization in families raising a child who is medically fragile/technology dependent and developmentally delayed.

The authors combined and analyzed parent data from two field studies examining family experiences in raising children who were both medically fragile and developmentally delayed or disabled to compare these families' experiences to published attributes of normalization. Normalization is usually considered a useful conceptual and coping strategy for families of children with chronic conditions, but it has not been examined in families whose children have both complex physical and developmental disabilities. Developmental delays compounded the effects of the children's physical chronic conditions, severely affecting how families organized and managed their daily lives, with the result that families did not fit currently established attributes of normalization. Instead, parents recognized normal and positive aspects of their lives while acknowledging the profound challenges that their families faced. Parents concluded that it was possible to have a good life that was not necessarily normal by usual standards.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2005

The search for social safety and comfort in families raising children with complex chronic conditions.

Social consequences of raising children who were medically fragile and developmentally delayed (MF/DD) were explored in an ethnographic study of 20 families with school-age children. The overarching theme was the families' search for safety and comfort in social situations. Major categories comprising this theme included the need to anticipate and plan for the child's care; overcoming environmental, child-related, and attitudinal barriers; and finding social activities that were comfortable for all members of the family. When this search was successful, families could relax, and all members could participate in a variety of social encounters and activities; but when safety and comfort could not be achieved, families were likely to limit social activities or split the family so that the child who was MF/DD could be cared for while other family members participated in social events.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2003

Conducting school-based focus groups: lessons learned from the CATS project.

Participation of children in focus groups has received scant attention despite the effectiveness of group interviews in eliciting children's views. Focus groups are a valuable approach for generating qualitative data from children; however, conducting school-based focus groups involves challenges specific to the school milieu and the ages and development of the participants. Lessons learned from conducting school-based focus groups during the Child-Adolescent Teasing Scale (CATS) project are applied to examination of key issues including entry to schools, informed consent and confidentiality, students' cognitive development, safety within the group, and appropriate procedures.

Child↗