Caregivers recount the regard that should be accorded to maintaining well-being and a sense of fun, as well as fostering the child's abilities, taking account of the progression of the disease, and to fulfilling his or her needs, especially social ones. Our results also demonstrate that all domains were positively referred to by professional caregivers. The data from our study will lead to better assessment of QoL according to the trajectory of a child with advanced cancer while undergoing PPC.

The results challenge the claims made by Cogmed to the effect that the program is effective in treating attention problems and improving performance in daily life over the long term in adults with ADHD.

BackgroundIt is known that information regarding the quality of life of a patient is central to pediatric palliative care. This information allows professionals to adapt the care and support provided to children and their families. Previous studies have documented the major areas to be investigated in order to assess the quality of life, although it is not yet known what operational criteria or piece of information should be used in the context of pediatric palliative care. The present study aims to: 1) Identify signs of quality of life and evaluation methods currently used by professionals to assess the quality of life of children with cancer receiving palliative care. 2) Collect recommendations from professionals to improve the evaluation of quality of life in this context.MethodsWe selected a qualitative research design and applied an inductive thematic content analysis to the verbal material. Participants included 20 members of the Department of Hematology-Oncology at CHU Sainte-Justine from various professions (e.g. physicians, nurses, psychosocial staff) who had cared for at least one child with cancer receiving palliative care in the last year.ResultsProfessionals did not have access to pre-established criteria or to a defined procedure to assess the quality of life of children they followed in the context of PPC. They reported basing their assessment on the child’s non-verbal cues, relational availability and elements of his/her environment. These cues are typically collected through observation, interpretation and by asking the child, his/her parents, and other members of the care. To improve the assessment of quality of life professionals recommended optimizing interdisciplinary communication, involving the child and the family in the evaluation process, increasing training to palliative care in hematology/oncology, and developing formalized measurement tools.ConclusionThe formulation of explicit criteria to assess the quality of life in this context, along with detailed recommendations provided by professionals, support the development of systematic measurement strategy. Such a strategy would contribute to the development of common care goals and further facilitate communication between professionals and with the family.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12904-018-0328-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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These results are a first step to support the postulate that training specific attentional functions by sensorimotor activities and visual-motor imagery has an impact on the cognitive network of attention. This study suggests the potential value of MCRP addressed to preschoolers with ADHD symptoms.

Summary The primary objective of this study was to examine the effects of the Cogmed training program on working memory among youths 7 to 13 years old, with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) type and comorbidity controlled for. A secondary objective was to examine the generalization of effects to ADHD symptoms, nonverbal reasoning, attentional and executive functions, inhibition, reading comprehension, and mathematical reasoning. Participants were under pharmacological treatment for ADHD combined type and a comorbidity. They were randomized into an experimental group that received the Cogmed program and an active control group that received a low‐intensity comparison version of the training. They were evaluated at three time points: 6 weeks prior to intervention onset (T1), immediately prior to onset (T2), and 1 week following intervention completion (T3). Results indicate no significant effect attributable to the Cogmed program. The fact that participants were on medication at the time of training and evaluation normalized their performances and limited the detection of effects. Moreover, cognitive training did not lead to a reduction in ADHD symptoms or to an improvement in the other cognitive functions measured or in academic performance. The results of this study do not demonstrate the effectiveness of the Cogmed program for youths with ADHD combined type and a comorbidity when they receive the training while under pharmacological treatment.

Parents of children with ADHD are more likely to present the disorder, which can affect quality of life and parenting strategies. Few studies have examined parental ADHD to date, none in France. Prevalence of self-rated ADHD symptoms in adulthood and childhood was estimated among 60 biological mothers or fathers of children with confirmed ADHD in France. Cutoffs were total score ≥46 on the Wender Utah Rating Scale and ≥4 on the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale Screener. Results indicated possible child and adult ADHD in 12.5% of mothers and 10.0% of fathers. As these percentages exceed reported prevalence rates for the French population, a greater effort must be made to diagnose the disorder in parents.

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