Jennifer Fieten, MA, CCLS
SIU School of Medicine at St. John’s Children’s Hospital, Springfield, IL
Maryville University, St. Louis, MO
Are you in need of evidence-based resources on a certain child life topic? Have you wondered how you can share a great resource with others so that the families they serve can also benefit? If so, the ACLP Resource Library is your answer!
Comprised of hundreds of helpful websites, references, and samples, the ACLP Resource Library is designed to keep relevant information at your fingertips and to help you do your job more effectively (Association of Child Life Professionals, 2021). The Professional Resource Committee is responsible for curating the library to ensure that the collection is constantly evolving with resources that reflect current best practices. The committee is responsible for the evaluation of resources for truthfulness, accuracy, age-appropriateness, and relevance to our professional field.
As a child life professional, the ACLP Resource Library has been incredibly helpful in identifying articles to support my efforts to advocate for children and families.
My top 5 favorite resources from the library are:
1. Uman et al., 2008. A systematic review of randomized controlled trials examining psychological interventions for needle-related procedural pain and distress in children and adolescents: An abbreviated Cochrane review. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 33(8), 842-854. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsn031
This article contains a variety of cognitive-behavioral psychological interventions for managing procedural pain and distress in children and adolescents between 2 and 19 years of age.
2. Kuehn, B.M. (2014). AAP: Toxic stress threatens kids' long-term health. Journal of the American Medical Association, 312(6), 585-586. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.8737
This article examines data related to early exposure to adversity and long-term health outcomes and effects on development.
3. The American Academy of Pediatrics' website
This website includes many resources on a variety of topics affecting children and families. The AAP is an organization of pediatricians who are committed to obtaining the optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for children of all ages.
4. Foronda, C. (2020). A theory of cultural humility. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 31(1), 7-12. doi:10.1177/1043659619875184
The author of this article examines the theory of cultural humility, an approach to diversity that acknowledged the need for continued self-evaluation and learning to respectfully connect with, support, empower, and understand perspectives of people from various backgrounds.
5. American Academy of Pediatrics. (2018). AAP diversity and inclusion statement. Pediatrics, 141(4), e20180193. doi:10.1542/peds.2018-1093.
This is the official statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics on respecting diversity and inclusion of all, both, in pediatric healthcare and in the operations of the AAP as an organization.
Here is how you can access the ACLP Resource Library:
The Child Life Resource Library is a collection in progress and benefits greatly from child life specialists sharing the amazing resources that they have found. We are looking for child life specialist to submit any of their “go to” resources, or any other new or unique resources that you have found related to the field of child life. A willingness to share resources and to support one another as professionals are benchmarks of our field. Resources can be sent to Mary Bean, ACLP Executive Assistant, at mbean@childlife.org. Resources will then be shared with the committee for inclusion. We look forward to hearing from you!
Reference:
Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP). (2021). Child Life Resource Library. Retrieved from: https://www.childlife.org/resources/for-child-life-specialists/child-life-resource-library