Bereavement Follow‐Up After the Death of a Child as a Standard of Care in Pediatric Oncology

Self Cite

338

369

Pediatric oncology psychosocial professionals collaborated with an interdisciplinary group of experts and stakeholders and developed evidence‐based standards for pediatric psychosocial care. Given the breadth of research evidence and traditions of clinical care, 15 standards were derived. Each standard is based on a systematic review of relevant literature and used the AGREE II process to evaluate the quality of the evidence. This article describes the methods used to develop the standards and introduces the 15 articles included in this special issue. Established standards help ensure that all children with cancer and their families receive essential psychosocial care. Pediatr Blood Cancer © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Standards for the Psychosocial Care of Children With Cancer and Their Families: An Introduction to the Special Issue

Wiener

Kazak

Noll

et al. 2015

Self Cite

338

369

“…These concerns may diminish with time, but bereaved siblings have also reported that long‐term outcomes (e.g., educational and career goals) may be affected by the loss . This highlights the need to provide ongoing support to families, especially after a child has died …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting Siblings as a Standard of Care in Pediatric Oncology

Gerhardt

Lehmann

Long

et al. 2015

109

179

In this study, evidence is provided for supporting siblings as a standard of care in pediatric oncology. Using Medline, PsycInfo, and CINAHL, a systematic search of articles published over the past two decades about siblings of children with cancer was conducted. A total of 125 articles, which were primarily descriptive studies, were evaluated by the four investigators using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria. There is moderate-quality evidence, as well as support from community stakeholders, to justify a strong recommendation that siblings of children with cancer should be provided with psychosocial services and that parents and professionals are advised about how to meet siblings' needs. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2015;62:S750-S804. C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Key words: adjustment; cancer; intervention; pediatric; sibling INTRODUCTIONSiblings are exposed to significant stress when a child is diagnosed with cancer. Concern about the ill child, disruptions in family roles and routines, decreased contact with family members, and additional demands for caregiving or other responsibilities in the home are common. [1,2] In some cases, siblings are also called upon to serve as a donor for stem cell transplant, which can introduce other ethical and psychosocial concerns. [3] Taken together, these unique challenges leave siblings of children with cancer at risk for acute and long-term psychosocial difficulties. However, there are no current evidence-based standards for the supportive care of siblings of children with cancer.Although severe psychopathology is rare, several reviews suggest that some siblings exhibit symptoms of anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress; lower quality of life and healthcare utilization; and disruption to academic and social functioning. [1,2,4,5] Most difficulties improve over the first year after diagnosis, but they may resurface or worsen with declines in the ill child's health or death.[6] Siblings can also demonstrate resilient outcomes, such as posttraumatic growth. [4,7] This variability in adjustment underscores the need for accurate screening to identify risk and protective factors and to provide appropriate services for siblings vulnerable to difficulties. Unfortunately, siblings have unmet needs and psychosocial support may be limited. [8,9] Further, in a large survey of professionals from three pediatric oncology organizations, only 25% reported that they provide psychosocial services to siblings.[10] Thus, it is critically important to establish evidence-based standards of care for siblings of children with cancer in efforts to encourage the provision of more consistent and comprehensive services for this population. METHODSThis review was performed as a part of the collaborative effort, Standards for Psychosocial Care of Children with Cancer and Their Families. A full description of the methods used to develop each standard is in the introduction to this special issue.[11] The literature search for this standard used three ...

“…Young patients have the right to be fully informed about their illness and treatment and desire empathetic, direct communication with physicians . Adolescents with cancer report the importance of being well‐informed and included in decision‐making about their treatment and end of life care . Tailoring of the message and choice of the voice are important because not all want full details of their condition, care, and prognosis and preferences vary for preferred source.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communication, Documentation, and Training Standards in Pediatric Psychosocial Oncology

Patenaude

Pelletier

Bingen

2015

As part of a larger effort to create standards for psychosocial care of children with cancer, we document consensus and evidence‐based data on interprofessional communication, documentation, and training for professionals providing psycho‐oncology services. Six databases were searched. Sixty‐five articles and six guidelines and consensus‐based documents were identified; 35 met inclusion criteria. Data support strong recommendations for standards of care in communication/collaboration, documentation of patient information, and training in pediatric psycho‐oncology. These are areas where extensive research is unlikely to be conducted; however, professional expectations and qualifications may be further clarified and strengthened with time. Pediatr Blood Cancer. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.