Our Mission

We are growing every day, providing innovative, arts-in-medicine supportive care programs for children coping with serious illness, their families and the health care providers who care for them.

Beads of Courage, Inc. is an approved public charity under I.R.S. Code Section 501(c)(3), based in Tucson, Arizona.

We Are Involved

Beads of Courage is a member of the following organizations:

• Society for the Arts in Healthcare
• International Society of Glass Beadmakers
• Child Life Council

Our History

Jean Baruch, developed the first Beads of Courage, Inc. program while working on her PhD in Nursing at the University of Arizona, College of Nursing. Her inspiration came from her clinical practice, and from her experiences as a camp nurse at one of Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camps. With the financial support of her family and friends, Jean developed and piloted the Beads of Courage Program at Phoenix Children's Hospital in February 2003. As part of the development, the following critical tasks were completed:

• Reviewed the professional literature regarding related programs for children and their families coping with serious illness, resulting in identifying gaps in services provided, and providing evidence-based support for the targeted outcomes of the Beads of Courage program as a resilience-based intervention.
  
  
• Wrote the Beads of Courage training manual for health care professionals, referencing the professional literature.
  
  
• Made logistic arrangements for the Beads of Courage program beads and printed materials.
  
  
• Designed and trademarked the Beads of Courage graphic logo.
  
  
• Formed relationship with the Arizona Society of Glass Beadmakers, and the International Society of Glass Beadmakers, resulting in the donation of special, handmade beads for the program.

Following the completion of the above development activities, an ongoing evaluation of the pilot Program at Phoenix Children's Hospital was conducted to determine its impact on the children who participated in the Program and on the staff who implemented it. Preliminary evaluation findings were presented at three national peer-reviewed research meetings: a podium presentation at the Association of Pediatric Oncology Nurses (APON) 28th Annual Conference and Exhibit, October 7-9, 2004, in Kansas City, MO; a poster presentation at the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) 2nd Annual Conference, January 27-29, 2005, in Phoenix, AZ; and a poster presentation at the Western Institute of Nursing (WIN), April 9-11, 2005, in San Francisco, CA.

Research

Ongoing research on the Beads of Courage Program for children coping with serious illness is in progress at all Beads of Courage Cooperative Group sites. The following professional presentations on related Beads of Courage Program research have been made at the following annual conferences:

Association of Pediatric Oncology Nurses (APON)
28th Annual Conference and Exhibit
October 7-9, 2004, Kansas City, MO
Podium Presentation

Baruch, J.M., Hunte, R., Stoneberger, C., Love, J., Giesling, A. & Jerdonek, S. (2004). Development and implementation of a multidisciplinary supportive care intervention for children with cancer and their health care providers.

American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS)
2nd Annual Conference
January 27-29, 2005, Phoenix, AZ
Poster Presentation

Baruch, J.M., Harmon, P. & Stoneberger, C. (2005). Development and implementation of an interdisciplinary supportive care intervention for children with cancer and their health care providers.

Western Institute of Nursing (WIN)
April 9-11, 2005, San Francisco, CA
Poster Presentation

Jean M. Baruch, RN, BSN, PhD(c) and Terry Badger, PhD, FAAN, University of Arizona, College of Nursing. (2005). Beads of Courage: A supportive care intervention for children with cancer and their health care providers.