Child Life Program Continues to Expand Care and Impact in Kenya
Each month the Sally Test Child Life Program at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Kenya helps more than 4,500 children and their families cope with their mental, emotional and social needs as they face hospitalization and medical procedures.
Now they are sharing the expertise gained as the first Child Life program in Kenya with their colleagues throughout the country and beyond.
Spreading Child Life Across Kenya
Participants at the Child Life training representative facilities from across Kenya.
The Sally Test Child Life team hosted the first introductory child life training in Kenya for 50 healthcare providers from other Kenyan hospitals and one participant from Malawi including pediatricians, nurses, clinical officers, social workers, occupational therapists, counsellors and pain specialists.
“Some of the facility representatives who attended the training, including Kenyatta National Hospital, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching & Referral Hospital and Kisii Teaching & Referral Hospital have already shared amazing feedback and enriching photos and videos of children enjoying child life supports and play,” said Elizabeth Kabuthi, program coordinator for the Sally Test Child Life program.
The training, conducted with support from Princess Maxima Centre in the Netherlands through their Kenya Program grant, included the history of the Sally Test Child Life Program, distraction techniques, coping strategies, procedural preparation, Child Life supports for children with special needs, pediatric palliative care, case studies and a tour of the MTRH Shoe4Africa Children’s Hospital. For many of the Sally Test child life specialists, it was their first time to facilitate a training, so they prepared through monthly sessions to build presentation skills and confidence. The team is already looking forward to an expanded training session in the future.
“We are grateful to Dr. Festus Njuguna, who is the principal investigator of the Sally Test Child Life program, for supporting and funding the 2-day training and believing in us. It has been a great experience for the team and quite motivating as we strive to spread the rich legacy of Child Life across health facilities in Kenya and beyond,” she continued. A WhatsApp group was created to offer continuing support to the facilities incorporating child life into daily practice. The team also recently presented two Child Life abstracts at an international conference in South Africa.
The Pioneering Program Continues to Grow
The Sally Test Child Life Program now provides services in 21 locations at MTRH including inpatient wards and outpatient clinics, the pediatric emergency and ambulatory unit, pediatric HIV clinic and intensive care unit. It supports children and families in more than 11,000 interactions each month including: preparation before medical procedures, distraction during procedures, advocacy, celebrations, creation of memory books and bereavement support.
Some children receive academic lessons while at the Sally Test Child Life Program.
The program is named for Sarah (Sally) Test, an AMPATH supporter from Indiana who provided the funds to launch the first child life program in sub-Saharan Africa. Her family continues to generously support the program today.
The Sally Test teacher, Ms. Njeri, provides educational lessons and activities for several dozen children each month through the Kuunga Mkono initiative. “The children are enjoying academics and I have received good remarks from the caregivers,” said Ms. Njeri. As a registered national examination centre, it brings joy to the team when patient candidates excel in national exams.
A cooking class for teens involves a dietician to discuss the importance of nutrition especially for renal and diabetes patients. The class provides the teens with a special meal prepared for them under supervision. ”Preparing and sharing food has a way of bringing people together and bonding,“ said teacher Mike, a child life specialist.
The child life program also hosts a variety of support groups including:
· Teen support group with discussion of the physical and emotional changes bodies undergo during the teenage years and the importance of having healthy, respectful relationships.
· Oncology caregivers support group that brings together a multidisciplinary team to answer parents’ questions and provide education about cancer, medications and relapse. A future meeting will include survivors of cancer to provide hope and motivation.
· Neurodevelopment parents support group to educate parents on risk factors of spina bifida and hydrocephalus.
Caregivers participate in skill training groups.
· Economic empowerment for family caregivers to train on skills which can afford them a livelihood and also support payment of medical insurance to reduce treatment abandonment. These include beading, knitting and crocheting, mat making and detergent production. It has been encouraging to observe tens of caregivers attending the sessions and taking notes.
Children who are able can enjoy outdoor activities such as basketball and football (soccer) on the Sally Test playground area. The teens enjoy using the e-bikes that were recently donated to the program. Fun Zumba fitness classes have become a favorite outdoor activity for children and caregivers and helps to exercise frail bodies and rebuild muscles weakened by the ravages of illness.
The Sally Test Child Life Team at MTRH
The child life team also organizes special events such as a surprise Mothers’ Day celebration for mothers on the hospital ward with sick children. “The children made cards and recited a poem to appreciate their mothers. There were beautiful tears and moments of hugs and sharing of love between the children and their mothers,” said Kabuthi.
The Importance of Storytelling
Storytelling is a powerful tool that provides emotional comfort, cognitive stimulation and a sense of normalcy to pediatric patients, promoting their overall well-being and aiding in their recovery. “Stories are good distractors from pain and discomfort experienced by hospitalized children hence make hospitalization more bearable. A good story can absorb a child’s attention providing relief from the reality of their situation,” said teacher Hellen, one of the child life specialists. The highly entertaining storytelling sessions are used to teach children about medical conditions, culture and to cultivate resilience.
End-of-Life Support
“A very important part of the Sally Test Child Life program is supporting children and families who are not facing good outcomes from their illnesses or injuries,” continued Kabuthi. When possible, children at the end-of-life are granted a wish. “One child asked for a necklace with a cartoon character which they planned to leave with a sibling. Other children have requested meals with their families.”
One child who had been a patient in the hospital for nearly two years was able to have a visit for a few days from his siblings before passing away. Together they enjoyed meals and drinks and made memories recorded in cherished photos and videos. The child’s mother said, “The Sibling Visitation program and the support from the Child Life team in the period before death and during bereavement made it so much easier for the surviving siblings to deal with their brother's death. It would have been so much more difficult had we not spent the last days and time with him. Thank you for all that you do for children under your care."
The team also helps children in legacy building and creating memory books to be left with their families. Recently, an area behind the main playroom has been transformed into a tree nursery for the Adopt-a-Tree project. Each family that loses a child receives a seedling to plant in memory of the child. “Planting a tree can help families confront their loss by translating it into something tangible and rooted in the earth. We hope to expand this program as more funds become available,” said Kabuthi.
Sally Test Wish List
· Support for patient Make-a-Wish requests
· Sibling Visitation program
· Academic materials
· New wooden tables
· More tree seedlings and garden materials - benches, chimes, bird feeders, large planters
· Revamping of the playrooms
The e-bikes have been a big hit with the children.