Audiovisual Educational Intervention for Children and Adolescent with Cancer: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background : Audiovisual materials for children have been widely used for cancer education; however, the effects of the materials remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of audiovisual educational interventions for children.Methods : We searched PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, PsycINFO, and CINAHL on 3 September 2018. Randomized controlled trials and quasi-randomized controlled trials that evaluated the audiovisual materials for children with cancer were included to identify the effects of the audiovisual interventions. The results of the analysis were evaluated using the Grade of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation to assess the certainty of evidence.Results: From the identified 5,367 studies, we included four reports based on two trials that included 388 children under 18 years old. One trial found that audiovisual educational intervention increased knowledge and self-efficacy (very low certainty of the evidence). The other trial reported that there were no clear differences in perceived stress and health locus of control (very low certainty of the evidence). The result of the meta-analysis indicated that there was no clear difference between the intervention group and the control group for the quality of life (very low certainty of the evidence).Conclusion: Audiovisual interventions might increase knowledge and self-efficacy, but there were no meaningful overall conclusions. Further trials are needed to assess educational interventions used in pediatric cancer treatment. Healthcare professionals should consider whether the materials they are currently using to communicate cancer-related information are sufficient and understandable for children with cancer.Systematic review registration: We registered the protocol to the PROSPERO (Registration: CRD42018110562)

Communication tools used in cancer communication with children: a scoping review protocol

“…Before planning this review, we conducted a systematic review to identify the effects of the audiovisual interventions to communicate with children about cancer. However, we found only two RCTs which assessed the effects of computer games about cancer,23 24 and could not show the overall conclusion 25. It is unclear what kind of communication tools are used to communicate with children about cancer.…”

“…For the included studies, two or more reviewers will independently chart the data into a data-charting Excel form developed for this study and discuss the results ( tables 1 and 2 ). This form was tested using two included studies in the previous study, 25 and updated the data-charting form in an iterative process.…”

“…However, we found only two RCTs which assessed the effects of computer games about cancer, 23 24 and could not show the overall conclusion. 25 It is unclear what kind of communication tools are used to communicate with children about cancer. Although the systematic reviews can identify the effects of the specific intervention, the scoping reviews can map the key concepts that underpin a research area.…”