Commentary: Computer-Based Interventions in Pediatric Psychology

The study by Davis, Quittner, Stack, & Yang (this issue) details an exciting and innovative approach to providing psychoeducation to pediatric populations. These inves- tigators employed a CD-ROM to deliver in-office education and illness-related coping skills to children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis. Findings demon- strated significant increases in both knowledge and coping competency after only 30 minutes exposure to the computer-based materials. These findings are noteworthy because they suggest that a brief, self- directed educational intervention can result in sub- stantial improvements in outcomes that are the frequent target of psychoeducational interventions. Moreover, the intervention described can be delivered cost-effectively and with little professional involvement. This commen- tary seeks to examine Davis et al. (this issue) in the context of the broader field of computer-delivered interventions, variously referred to as e-health or tele- health, and to consider the opportunities and challenges that this emerging area poses for the field of pediatric psychology. A review article (Lewis, 1999) of computer-based approaches to patient education found that 16 of 21