The Psychosocial Impact of Sickle Cell Disease in Children

Zwicker, Hailey Marie

The Psychosocial Impact of Sickle Cell Disease in Children

dc.contributor.advisor	Schulte, Fiona
dc.contributor.author	Zwicker, Hailey Marie
dc.contributor.committeemember	Guilcher, Gregory
dc.contributor.committeemember	Yeates, Keith
dc.date	2021-11
dc.date.accessioned	2021-09-29T18:25:59Z
dc.date.available	2021-09-29T18:25:59Z
dc.date.issued	2021-09-27
dc.description.abstract	Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder associated with a number of severe biopsychosocial complications. Yet, children diagnosed with SCD have been under-represented in health care research, particularly with respect to the psychological and social consequences of the disease. This Thesis aimed to contribute to the psychosocial SCD research foundation by 1) reviewing existing literature that examined health-related quality of life (HRQL) among children diagnosed with SCD; and 2) investigating social adjustment and the associations with disease, and non-disease related factors in children with SCD. First, a systematic review was conducted where four electronic databases were searched for articles examining HRQL in children with SCD as a primary aim, and results were summarized by narrative synthesis. Sixty-eight articles were included in the final review. Results indicated that children with SCD generally report poorer HRQL, and HRQL may be associated with a number of factors such as, pain, identifying as female, or SCD related complications. Secondly, a retrospective examination of data from a neuropsychology clinic at a tertiary children’s hospital allowed for examination of social adjustment in children with SCD. Social adjustment scores were compared with previously collected data of healthy children and other chronic illness populations, and linear regression models were conducted to assess disease and non-disease related factors as potential predictor variables of social adjustment. Results indicated that children with SCD report similar social adjustment as healthy peers and youth with chronic illness. Parent-proxy reports indicate significantly better social adjustment in youth with SCD compared to those with chronic illness, but no different than healthy peers. Findings from regression analyses indicate that sex, executive functioning, and sociocultural factors may influence social adjustment in this population. Evidence from this work guides future research to incorporate sociocultural factors in future SCD research and encourages the furtherment of psychosocial research in this under-served population.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Zwicker, H. M. (2021). The Psychosocial Impact of Sickle Cell Disease in Children (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39306
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/113994
dc.language.iso	eng	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Cumming School of Medicine	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.subject	Paediatrics	en_US
dc.subject	Sickle Cell Disease	en_US
dc.subject	Psychosocial	en_US
dc.subject	Health Related Quality of Life	en_US
dc.subject	Social Health	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Education--Health	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Psychology	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Psychology--Social	en_US
dc.title	The Psychosocial Impact of Sickle Cell Disease in Children	en_US
dc.type	master thesis	en_US
thesis.degree.discipline	Medicine – Medical Sciences	en_US
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary	en_US
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)	en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true	en_US