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A Therapeutic Recreation Camp for Children with Congenital Heart Disease: Examining Impact on the Psychosocial Well-Being of Parents

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Abstract

Therapeutic recreation camps have been considered to be an effective context for improving the psychosocial functioning of children with congenital heart disease (CHD). However, there is limited research regarding their impact on parents. Nine parents participated in two semi-structured interviews before and after their children attended a camp for children with CHD. Parents described their perceptions of their children’s camp experiences and identified the psychosocial utility of camp for themselves. Camp enabled parents to let their children grow and be independent, and helped reduce parents’ restricting and overprotective behaviours. Camp also provided parents with respite care, which alleviated their need to be ‘cardiac’ parents. These findings strengthen the case for therapeutic recreation camps and underscore the importance of expanding camp access to more families affected by CHD.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the parents and campers of Camp Oki for sharing their invaluable experiences with us. This manuscript is dedicated to the memory of our campers who passed away as a result of CHD during the course of this research.

Funding

The study was supported by the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation, through the generous support of a donor family interested in improving the quality-of-life for children with congenital heart disease.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, 55 Harbord St, Toronto, ON, M5S 2W6, Canada

    Lauren C. White & Guy E. J. Faulkner

  2. Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

    Fiona J. Moola

  3. The Labatt Family Heart Centre, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Joel A. Kirsh

  4. Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Joel A. Kirsh

  5. School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Guy E. J. Faulkner

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  1. Lauren C. White
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  4. Guy E. J. Faulkner
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Correspondence to Lauren C. White.

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White, L.C., Moola, F.J., Kirsh, J.A. et al. A Therapeutic Recreation Camp for Children with Congenital Heart Disease: Examining Impact on the Psychosocial Well-Being of Parents. J Child Fam Stud 25, 3034–3043 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0474-x

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