The MEND Program

Initiative Description: The MEND program is a family and peer-based psychosocial intervention for adolescents with Chronic Illness. MEND is designed to influence the major systems of the patient’s life, that is, individual, family, social, and medical. The intervention is carried out by a therapy team of two to three clinicians, depending on the number of families enrolled.

Participation was considered a family completing the prescribed 21 sessions (7 weeks) of the program.

Study Results: There was a significant difference in school absenteeism between time points.
Parent-rated physical functioning directly predicted decreased number of missed school days, while lower parent-rated social and child-rated physical functioning predicted increased missed school days.

Reference: Emerson, N. n., Distelberg, B., Morrell, H. R., Williams-Reade, J., Tapanes, D., & Montgomery, S. (2016). Quality of Life and School Absenteeism in Children With Chronic Illness. Journal Of School Nursing, 32(4), 258-266. doi:10.1177/1059840515615401

Level of Evidence: Good