Health Acceptance through Camp : Mixed-Method Data from a Central-European Therapeutic Recreational Based Camp for Seriously Ill Children

This study aims to understand how youth living with serious illness retrospectively value their therapeutic recreational (TR) based camp experience. We focus primarily on they learned accept health condition, what consider the most valuable outcome from camp, and through which mechanisms contributed these outcomes. The applied a mixed-method online survey measuring learning outcomes in sample of 18–25-year-old alumni (N = 60) Hungarian ‘Camp Courage’ (Bátor Tábor). Questions regarding acceptance competence formed quantitative part were analyzed via descriptive statistics. assessed important open-ended questions qualitative part, deductive thematic analysis method. Our research found that are constructs for young adults, TR-based camps may play major role development. organized recurring themes under overarching theme ‘restorative experience growth’ as main benefit ‘unconditional acceptance’ mechanism contributing this benefit. Those campers who have experienced illness-based limitations life before expressed benefits psychosocial domains. They highlighted acceptance, empathy, social support at mainly interactions peers counselors. conclude Camp Courage provides suitable environment rehabilitation affected by childhood cancer or other illness. recommend further roles camp.