PPC teams currently serve a diverse cohort of children and young adults with life-threatening conditions. In contrast to the reported experience of adult-oriented palliative care teams, most PPC patients are alive for more than a year after initiating PPC.

Purpose Thousands of children are living with advanced cancer; yet patient-reported outcomes (PROs) have rarely been used to describe their experiences. We aimed to describe symptom distress in 104 children age 2 years or older with advanced cancer enrolled onto the Pediatric Quality of Life and Evaluation of Symptoms Technology (PediQUEST) Study (multisite clinical trial evaluating an electronic PRO system). Methods Symptom data were collected using age- and respondent-adapted versions of the PediQUEST Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (PQ-MSAS) at most once per week. Clinical and treatment data were obtained from medical records. Individual symptom scores were dichotomized into high/low distress. Determinants of PQ-MSAS scores were explored using linear mixed-effects models. Results During 9 months of follow-up, PQ-MSAS was administered 920 times: 459 times in teens (99% self-report), 249 times in children ages 7 to 12 years (96% child/parent report), and 212 times in those ages 2 to 6 years (parent reports). Common symptoms included pain (48%), fatigue (46%), drowsiness (39%), and irritability (37%); most scores indicated high distress. Among the 73 PQ-MSAS surveys administered in the last 12 weeks of life, pain was highly prevalent (62%; 58% with high distress). Being female, having a brain tumor, experiencing recent disease progression, and receiving moderate- or high-intensity cancer-directed therapy in the prior 10 days were associated with worse PQ-MSAS scores. In the final 12 weeks of life, receiving mild cancer-directed therapy was associated with improved psychological PQ-MSAS scores. Conclusion Children with advanced cancer experience high symptom distress. Strategies to promote intensive symptom management are indicated, especially with disease progression or administration of intensive treatments.

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Context Despite emerging evidence of substantial financial distress in families of children with complex illness, little is known about economic hardship in families of children with advanced cancer. Objectives To describe perceived financial hardship, work disruptions, income losses and associated economic impact in families of children with advanced cancer stratified by federal poverty level (FPL). Methods This is a cross-sectional survey of 86 parents of children with progressive, recurrent or non-responsive cancer at three children’s hospitals. Seventy-one families with complete income data (82%) are included in this analysis. Results Parental work disruptions were prevalent across all income levels, with 67 (94%) families reporting some disruption. At least one parent quit a job because of the child’s illness in 29 (42%) families. Nineteen (27%) families described their child’s illness as a great economic hardship. Income losses due to work disruptions were substantial for all families; families at or below 200% FPL, however, were disproportionately affected. Six (50%) of the poorest families lost more than 40% of their annual income as compared with two (5%) of the wealthiest families (P=0.006). As a result of income losses, nine (15%) previously non-poor families fell from above to below the 200% FPL. Conclusion The economic impact of pediatric advanced cancer on families is significant at all income levels, although poorer families suffer disproportionate losses. Development of ameliorative intervention strategies is warranted.

Objectives To describe the prevalence and factors of psychological distress (PD) among parents of children with advanced cancer. Design Cohort study embedded within a randomized clinical trial (Pediatric Quality of Life and Evaluation of Symptoms Technology [PediQUEST] study). Setting Multicenter study conducted at three children’s hospitals (Boston Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Seattle Children’s Hospital). Participants Parents of children with advanced (progressive, recurrent, or refractory) cancer Outcome Measure Parental PD, as measured by the Kessler-6 (K6) general psychological distress scale. Results 86 of 104 parents completed the Survey about Caring for Children with Cancer (SCCC, 83% participation); 81 parents had complete K6 data. Over 50% of parents reported high PD and 16% met criteria for serious PD (compared to US prevalence of 2–3%). Parent perceptions of prognosis, goals of therapy, child symptoms/suffering, and financial hardship were associated with PD. In multivariate analyses, average parent K6 scores were higher among parents who believed their child was suffering highly and who reported great economic hardship. Conversely, PD was significantly lower among parents whose prognostic understanding was aligned with concrete goals of care. Conclusions Parenting a child with advanced cancer is strongly associated with high to severe levels of PD. Interventions aimed at aligning prognostic understanding with concrete care goals, and easing child suffering and financial hardship may mitigate parental PD.

A B S T R A C T PurposeThis study aimed to determine whether feeding back patient-reported outcomes (PROs) to providers and families of children with advanced cancer improves symptom distress and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Patients and MethodsThis study was a parallel, multicentered pilot randomized controlled trial. At most once per week, children age Ն 2 years old with advanced cancer or their parent completed the computer-based Pediatric Quality of Life and Evaluation of Symptoms Technology (PediQUEST) survey consisting of age-and respondent-adapted versions of the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS), Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 Generic Core Scales (PedsQL4.0), and an overall Sickness question. In the intervention group (n ϭ 51), oncologists and families received printed reports summarizing PROs; e-mails were sent to oncologists and subspecialists when predetermined scores were exceeded. No feedback was provided in the control group (n ϭ 53). Primary outcomes included linear trends of MSAS, PedsQL4.0 total and subscale scores, and Sickness scores during 20 weeks of follow-up, along with child, parent, and provider satisfaction with PediQUEST feedback. ResultsFeedback did not significantly affect average MSAS, PedsQL4.0, or Sickness score trends. Post hoc subgroup analyses among children age Ն 8 years who survived 20 weeks showed that feedback improved PedsQL4.0 emotional (ϩ8.1; 95% CI, 1.8 to 14.4) and Sickness (Ϫ8.2; 95% CI, Ϫ14.2 to Ϫ2.2) scores. PediQUEST reports were valued by children, parents, and providers and contributed at least sometimes to physician initiation of a psychosocial consult (56%). ConclusionAlthough routine feedback of PROs did not significantly affect the child's symptoms or HRQoL, changes were in expected directions and improvements observed in emotional HRQoL through exploratory analyses were encouraging. Importantly, children, parents, and providers value PRO feedback.

IMPORTANCE Parents’ beliefs about what they need to do to be a good parent when their children are seriously ill influence their medical decisions, and better understanding of these beliefs may improve decision support. OBJECTIVE To assess parents’ perceptions regarding the relative importance of 12 good-parent attributes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A cross-sectional, discrete-choice experiment was conducted at a children’s hospital. Participants included 200 parents of children with serious illness. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Ratings of 12 good-parent attributes, with subsequent use of latent class analysis to identify groups of parents with similar ratings of attributes, and ascertainment of whether membership in a particular group was associated with demographic or clinical characteristics. RESULTS The highest-ranked good-parent attribute was making sure that my child feels loved, followed by focusing on my child’s health, making informed medical care decisions, and advocating for my child with medical staff. We identified 4 groups of parents with similar patterns of good-parent–attribute ratings, which we labeled as: child feels loved (n = 68), child’s health (n = 56), advocacy and informed (n = 55), and spiritual well-being (n = 21). Compared with the other groups, the child’s health group reported more financial difficulties, was less educated, and had a higher proportion of children with new complex, chronic conditions. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Parents endorse a broad range of beliefs that represent what they perceive they should do to be a good parent for their seriously ill child. Common patterns of how parents prioritize these attributes exist, suggesting future research to better understand the origins and development of good-parent beliefs among these parents. More important, engaging parents individually regarding what they perceive to be the core duties they must fulfill to be a good parent may enable more customized and effective decision support.

Purpose Decision making is one of the ways in which parents serve as stewards of their children with cancer, but barriers to informed decision making among parents of children with cancer have been identified. We sought to evaluate the extent to which parents feel satisfied with, or regretful of, decisions made for their child's cancer treatment and to identify factors associated with heightened regret. Methods We surveyed 346 parents of children with cancer within 12 weeks of their initial cancer treatment decision and the children's physicians at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Boston Children's Hospital and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Our main outcome measure was heightened regret as measured by the Decisional Regret Scale. Results Sixteen percent of parents (N = 54) met our definition of heightened decisional regret. In a multivariable logistic regression model, race/ethnicity was associated with regret, with black (odds ratio [OR], 6.55; 95% CI, 2.30 to 18.7), Hispanic (OR, 2.15; 95% CI, .69 to 6.65), and other race parents (OR, 4.68; 95% CI, 1.58 to 13.8) at increased risk for regret relative to whites ( P = .001 across all categories). In contrast, parents who reported receiving high-quality information (OR, .45; 95% CI, .23 to .91; P = .03) and detailed prognostic information (OR, .48; 95% CI, .24 to .96; P = .04), who trusted the oncologist completely (OR, .32; 95% CI, .17 to .63; P = .001), and who held their ideal role in decision making (OR, .49; 95% CI, .25 to .95; P = .04) were less likely to experience regret. Conclusion Although many parents are satisfied with decisions made for their children with cancer, racial and ethnic minority parents are at heightened risk for regret. Clinicians may be able to reduce this risk by providing high-quality information, including prognostic information, involving parents in decision making in the ways they wish, and serving as trusted providers.