Anderson Emma, Powers Rebecca, Pang Ken C, Lengelsen-Brown Harry, Rayner Cate
Department of Adolescent Medicine, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Australia.
Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Australia.
J Paediatr Child Health. 2025 Sep;61(9):1486-1494. doi: 10.1111/jpc.70139. Epub 2025 Jul 13.
The Chronic Illness Peer Support (ChIPS) program is a peer support group for adolescents with chronic illness (CI) at The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. The program provides psychosocial support through connection to peers with shared experience. This quantitative study aimed to evaluate the longitudinal impact of ChIPS participation on measures of belonging, social support, life satisfaction, and self-efficacy.
Participants who commenced the ChIPS program from April 2019 to May 2024 were invited to complete questionnaires containing validated measures (Sense of Belonging scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Life Satisfaction Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Self-Efficacy to Manage Disease in General Scale). Surveys were completed at four time points over a two-year period: pre and post completing the introductory program, then at two further time points 12 and 24 months later.
Participants demonstrated a high sense of belonging to the program. Life satisfaction scores remained relatively stable despite the expected reduction in these across adolescence. Perceived social support scores also remained stable. Participation in ChIPS was associated with increasing self-efficacy in general and in the management of CI over time.
The ChIPS program is valuable for adolescents experiencing CI, and provides a sense of belonging for young people who are at risk of social isolation.
慢性病同伴支持（ChIPS）项目是墨尔本皇家儿童医院为患有慢性病（CI）的青少年设立的同伴支持小组。该项目通过与有共同经历的同伴建立联系来提供心理社会支持。这项定量研究旨在评估参与ChIPS对归属感、社会支持、生活满意度和自我效能感等指标的纵向影响。
邀请2019年4月至2024年5月开始参加ChIPS项目的参与者完成包含经过验证的量表（归属感量表、多维感知社会支持量表、生活满意度量表、一般自我效能量表和总体疾病管理自我效能量表）的问卷。在两年内的四个时间点完成调查：完成入门项目前和后，然后在12个月和24个月后的另外两个时间点。
参与者对该项目表现出高度的归属感。尽管在整个青春期生活满意度得分预计会下降，但仍保持相对稳定。感知社会支持得分也保持稳定。随着时间的推移，参与ChIPS与总体自我效能感以及慢性病管理方面自我效能感的提高相关。
ChIPS项目对患有慢性病的青少年很有价值，并为有社会孤立风险的年轻人提供了归属感。
