Management at Home: The Chronic Child

Abstract

Children who suffer from chronic conditions have disadvantages that go beyond the illness itself. Compared to other children of the same age, their quality of life can be highly compromised. It has been widely acknowledged that adult patients suffering from lifelong conditions can have difficulties in managing their own lives.

Telehealth can have a primary role in the management of the chronic child, both monitoring and supporting the treatment and improving the adherence to therapy, helping therefore families to receive a continuous help and support. It is due to reduce the burden for children and families, whose quality of life is often strongly affected by the medical condition affecting the child. The idea of a home-based treatment that can reduce the time of hospitalization and the visits to a medical surgery does not sacrifice the doctor-patient relationship, which can be kept reducing the distances that can normally occur in a conventional medical encounter. A net of professionals and of families sharing the same problems – based on easily accessible technologies powered by the Internet – can improve the compliance, helping children to overcome those issues that normally undermine their quality of life.