Can camps improve outcomes for young people with long-term conditions or disabilities?

Abstract

One fifth of the UK’s population are young people, of which one in seven has a diagnosed long-term health condition or disability (Milnes 2016). There are organisations that arrange residential camps to provide recreational and residential activities for these young people. The camps provide a supportive environment for learning to self-manage health conditions independently, something that is important for the transition to adult life (American Diabetes Association 2015). While a student at the University of Leeds, I undertook a literature review as my dissertation. The aim was to explore if attending a specialised camp programme leads to positive improvement in psychosocial outcomes for children and young people with a long-term illness or disability.