The Family Talk Intervention in a Children’s hospital – a pre-post study

This research project evaluates FTI in a children’s hospital in Sweden. The project is part of the research programme FTI – The Family Talk Intervention.

Medical social workers employed at the hospital have been trained to use FTI during 2021-2022 and during 2022-2023, they have worked with the FTI in their everyday clinical care. Families are invited to participate if they include one of the following: 1) a child with an illness that can be treated, but where treatment might fail, e.g. cancer, 2) a child with a serious illness where premature death is inevitable e.g. cystic fibrosis, trisomy 13 and 18, 3) a child with progressive illness where there are no treatment options e.g. different syndromes, or 4) children with chronic illness, not life-limiting, but very impairing and where complications could lead to premature death, e.g. multifunctional impairment and damages related to hypoxia. The effects of the FTI are evaluated as well as the families’ experiences of participating.