Interventions in Foster Family Care: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objective: Foster family care is associated with adverse short- and long-term consequences for the child. A systematic review was conducted on interventions for foster children and foster careers. Method: A comprehensive search process was used to find eligible interventions evaluated in randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental studies. The quality of studies was assessed with GRADE, and effects were synthesized using meta-analytic methods. Results: In all, 28 publications of 18 interventions, including 5,357 children, were identified. Only three specific interventions had sufficient confidence of evidence. No study had examined tools for foster parent selection nor had evaluated preservice programs related to outcomes. Discussion: These analyses provide new insights and hope into the field of systematic interventions in foster care. The overall results indicate that it is possible to improve eight outcomes but cannot point out which programs are superior. Ethically, social care organizations should systematically collect knowledge about effects and side effects.

Outcomes in Adulthood After Long-Term Foster Care: A Sibling Approach

“…In a ground breaking U.S. study, Kessler et al (2008) found that systematic attention to health-care needs during time in placement was strongly associated with better somatic and mental health in young adult age. In addition, there are effective intervention programs that enhance psychosocial development for children in foster care, but these are not used in Sweden (Bergström et al, 2019). In other words, there is ample space for improvements.…”

When Technology Enters at Home: The Challenges of Home Health Care Providers in a Developing Country

“…Dale et al also suggested that inadequate support for families with patients under prolonged mechanical ventilation causes physical disorders, increases the burden of families, and reduces their quality of life [18]. Therefore, family-centered interventions for these patients include continuity of communication with the family and supportive interventions to strengthen family information and functional skills to improve patients' therapeutic outcomes and health-related quality of life [19].…”

Treatment Foster Care Oregon for Delinquent Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Residential placement of youth with serious behavior problems requires balancing the protection of others from the adolescent’s delinquent behavior while avoiding aggravation of the adolescent’s problems, something which may occur as a result of negative peer influence, abuse, and counterproductive restrictions of personal autonomy. Four ethical issues are actualized in relation to this (Bergström et al, 2019; Molin & Palmer, 2005; Munthe & Hartvigsson, 2015).…”

“…As reported elsewhere (Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services, 2018), in Sweden, a total of 33 different interventions are used in group care, and it is hardly likely that all are equally effective. As there are some interventions that have limited evidence of efficacy, it becomes an ethical challenge when such interventions are not used and instead interventions without any evidence of efficacy are selected (Banks, 2012; Bergström et al, 2019; Jackson, 1998).…”