Use of Salutogenic Approach Among Children and Adolescents with Chronic Illnesses: A Scoping Review.

PROBLEM: A pathogenic medical orientation focusing on disease management relies heavily on the skills of healthcare professionals. In contrast, a salutogenic approach focuses on health promotion by encouraging resource strengthening among patients to maintain and support recovery, which could help alleviate healthcare burden and enhance healthcare quality. Considering the increased life expectancies of chronically ill children, this review aimed to consolidate evidence on the use of salutogenesis among children and adolescents with chronic illnesses. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: A scoping review guided by Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage framework was conducted. Studies with samples of children or adolescents aged 19 years and below with chronic disease were included in the review. SAMPLE: A library search was performed across six electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) from each database's inception to March 2020. Twelve studies were included. RESULTS: Current evidence only highlighted the trend and advantages of high sense of coherence and identify factors that enhance sense of coherence. Boys, younger age, higher cognitive functioning, non-migrants, non-smokers, and available peer and family support contribute to higher levels of sense of coherence, which lead to better perceived health, quality of life, and more positive coping strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare professionals should adopt a salutogenic approach to encourage patient involvement, independence, and responsibility in maintaining their own health. IMPLICATIONS: Further research is needed to provide a holistic view of the sense of coherence and application of salutogenesis (especially other salutogenic concepts) among this sample group, which can also inform future salutogenic intervention studies.