Implementation of a Yoga Program in a Pediatric Hem/Onc/BMT Population

Abstract

Pediatric patients affected by chronic illness and prolonged treatments/hospitalization require comprehensive care across all domains (physical/social/emotional/spiritual). In order to improve the care we provide, our pediatric hematology/oncology/blood and marrow transplant division has created a comprehensive integrative health and wellbeing program. This program is intended to become the standard of care for all patients and families. All therapies are provided as patient-and-family-centered, relationship-based care. One modality used to achieve this overarching goal was the implementation of a hospital-based yoga program. The goals of implementing a hospital-based yoga program for children and families are to examine the feasibility of a yoga program in pediatric hem/onc/BMT acute care, to provide frontline staff a tool for teaching patients and families coping, resilience, and self-regulation skills, and to offer frontline staff a tool for self-care and professional resiliency. This nurse-led initiative implements a yoga program across the continuum of care for hem/onc/BMT patients and families. The comprehensive program is tailored to children and adolescents. It uses yoga-based movement, mindfulness, and social/emotional skills to enhance patient and family coping and resiliency. A train-the-trainer model is used to educated frontline staff including RNs, nursing assistants, MDs, physical therapists, child-family-life specialists, chaplains, and social workers to offer individualized consultation to patients and families to empower them to incorporate specific skills and techniques into their individualized plan of care. Outcome data are being collected in the following areas: financial sustainability, patient, family, and staff satisfaction, and rates of patient recruitment and retention in the yoga program. This project demonstrates how a nurse-led initiative could impact the care provided by the interdisciplinary team across the continuum of care. It incorporates the principles of integrative nursing, which are in line with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Triple Aim as well as components of the Affordable Care Act.