Chronically ill children surfing a wave for wellbeing

The joy of riding the waves is bringing new relief to children at risk of mental health issues from serious health conditions.

The program is the first of its kind in Australia and is now being offered to patients at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) following the successful completion of a pilot study involving 15 children with cystic fibrosis and their families.

The pilot study, funded by Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation, showed positive trends in both emotional and physical health, and family relationships. Parent stress levels decreased, their children were happier and more relaxed with increased confidence.

The new program from researchers at PCH which commenced in 2022 currently offers an innovative approach to improving mental health with the fun and fitness of a surfing intervention.

Families with children impacted by serious health conditions including type 1 diabetes, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, oncology disease, post-burns injuries, cerebral palsy and cystic fibrosis are now enrolling in the surfing program.

The research team will evaluate the physical and mental health impacts of the program on these children and their families.

The program is led by PCH Senior Clinical Psychologist Joanna White, in collaboration with clinical colleagues at PCH and research colleagues at The University of Western Australia and Telethon Kids Institute.

“Children and adolescents with chronic conditions have a 2 to 3 times greater risk of developing a mental health disorder than their healthy counterparts,” Ms White said.

“Because families are impacted by the burden of managing a chronic condition the intervention is family-based, so potentially all family members can benefit.

“There is good evidence to suggest that surfing has positive effects on the general physical and psychosocial wellbeing of participants.”

Expected benefits of the program include increased physical fitness through low impact interval activity, improved motor skill development and a sense of belonging to a community.

Nine-year-old Ruby Taylor has been a PCH patient for the last 5 years since sustaining a serious burns injury. She has undergone more than 20 surgeries and a gruelling treatment regime during that time.

Ruby was invited to participate in the current surfing program and “absolutely loved” her experience.

Ruby’s mum Asha said the opportunity to learn different skills and participate in an everyday activity was brilliant.

“The surfing lessons were definitely something Ruby looked forward to and it was fantastic for us to focus on a fun activity away from the hospital environment.

“The experience provided a positive and supportive environment that was both mentally and physically rewarding for Ruby,” Mrs Taylor said.

The surfing intervention is part of the multidisciplinary research project Move to Improve. The project harnesses the concept of ‘exercise as medicine’, prescribing personalised physical exercise and health promotion advice as part of routine clinical care.

Move to Improve is funded by the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation and Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation.