Access to and experience of education for children and adolescents with cancer: a scoping review protocol

Abstract

Background Cancer diagnosis in childhood or adolescence impacts significantly on school attendance, experience and educational outcomes. While there is longstanding recognition in clinical practice that these effects span the whole illness trajectory and continue beyond treatment completion, further clarity is required on the specific barriers and facilitators to education during cancer treatment and beyond, as well as on the experiences of children and adolescents across the full range of education settings (hospital, home, virtual, original school of enrolment), in order to determine which interventions are successful in improving access and experience from their perspective. The aim of this review is to identify what is known from the existing literature about access to and experience of education for children and adolescents with cancer during and post treatment. Methods We have planned a scoping literature review searching the following databases from inception onwards: MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase and Embase Classic, Web of Science Core Collection, Education Resources Index, Sociological Abstracts, APA PsycINFO, SCOPUS, CINAHL Plus, Emcare and The Cochrane Library. In addition, DARE, conference abstracts, key journals, and institutional websites will be searched. Arksey and O’Malley’s six-step process will be followed, including a consultation exercise. Studies, reports and policies from any country providing care and treatment for children and adolescents with cancer published in English will be considered eligible for inclusion. Two reviewers will independently screen all citations, full-text articles and abstract data. A narrative summary of findings will be conducted. Data analysis will involve quantitative (e.g., frequencies) and qualitative (e.g., content and thematic analysis) methods. Discussion This is a timely examination given the increased incidence of childhood cancer, more intensive treatment regimens and improved survival rates for childhood cancer. The inclusion of a substantive consultation exercise with families and professionals will provide an important opportunity to examine the scoping review outputs. Findings will assist the childhood cancer community in developing a comprehensive evidence-based understanding of a significant associated bio-psychosocial impact of cancer diagnosis and treatment and will form the first step towards developing effective interventions and policies to mitigate identified detrimental effects. Systematic review registration Open Science Framework (osf/io/yc4wt)

Paediatric oncology nursing education and training programmes: a scoping review protocol

“…The reviews currently available focus on education offered to multidisciplinary teams, 29 30 the use of simulation-based educational strategies to educate nurses and physicians about cancer care, 31 and access to and experience of education for children and adolescents with cancer. 32 In addition, a scoping review of published training and education initiatives for health professionals in LMICs by Karim et al 29 was performed to understand the strategies used to train the global oncology workforce. In their review, they found that most educational initiatives targeted physicians and focused on continuing medical education.…”

Learning and Well-Being in Educational Practices with Children and Adolescents Undergoing Cancer Treatment

“…In addition to learning, technological resources can assist in the cancer treatment of patients in relation to aspects of well-being and quality of life [21,39]. It is important that, during cancer treatment, patients receive attention, and have moments of leisure, fun, and play, because the physical difficulty of performing these activities, in addition to periods of hospitalization, can affect their psycho-social development [40,41]. Currently, digital games have become the kind of games that young people like the most and with which they associate a pleasurable practice.…”

Learning and Well-being in Educational Practices with Children and Adolescents Undergoing Cancer Treatment

“…In addition to learning, technological resources can assist in the cancer treatment of patients in relation to aspects of well-being and quality of life [21,41]. It is important, during cancer treatment, that patients receive attention, have moments of leisure, fun, and play, because the physical difficulty of performing these activities, in addition to periods of hospitalization, can affect their psycho-social development [42,43]. Currently, digital games have become the kind of games that young people like the most and with which they associate a pleasurable practice.…”