Coping with child’s disease by children and their parents (guardians) – a systematic review of the literature

Introduction. Illness is a stressful experience for a sick child and its parents (guardians). Coping and studying specific coping behaviors of parents and children with the disease are an essential part of care.

Aim. Presentation of available research results in English and/or Polish, carried out by researchers in the field of coping strategies of children and their parents (guardians) with the child’s disease.

Material and methods. The systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta Analyzes (PRISMA 2020) statement. Electronic databases searched in May 2021 included PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. Methodological limitations demonstrated using the Critical Skills Appraisal Program (CASP) check-lists package. In total 42 articles were qualified for the analysis.

Results. The analysis of the publications showed that children and their parents most often cope with the disease through social support, active coping, emotional-focused coping, referring to religion and avoidance.

Conclusions. Conscious use of coping strategies may contribute to better results in the treatment undertaken and allow the child and its parents to feel in control of the stressful situation in which they find themselves. Knowing about parents’ and child’s coping strategies can be helpful in developing childcare plans.