The Role of Legacy Building in Chronically Ill Children's Overall Well-Being

Abstract

What is the link between legacy building and chronically ill children’s overall wellbeing? Legacy building refers to interventions that are focused on helping children and families create lasting memories during extended, significantly stressful, or end-of-life healthcare experiences. In this review, the role of legacy building in chronically ill children’s overall wellbeing will be discussed. To gather sources, 10 different databases were searched to provide a variety for the project. Key terms used for identifying articles included legacy building, child life, children, legacy activities and end-of-life intervention. Research suggests a need for child life specialists to provide psychosocial support at the end of life, mainly through legacy building. Throughout the literature there was a common finding, children and families use legacy building to cope with the death and dying process. Children who are faced with end-of-life scenarios can benefit from legacy building. Legacy building improves families’ overall coping abilities, adjustment to death, and provides them with keepsakes of the deceased.