Delivery of care consistent with the psychosocial standards in pediatric cancer: Current practices in the United States

Abstract

Many oncologists and psychosocial leaders perceive that the delivery of psychosocial care at their center is consistent with the Standards. However, care is quite variable, with evidence for the value of more integrated models of psychosocial services.

The impact of childhood cancer on parents' socio‐economic situation—A systematic review

“…In 2015, standards for psychosocial care of children with cancer were published including a recommendation for assessing family financial hardship . A follow‐up study from the United States outlined that while most paediatric oncology programs could implement some of these standards, lack of monetary resources precludes a comprehensive implementation, and only half of paediatric oncologists and psychosocial leaders agreed that their psychosocial care is state of the art . However, a recent study from the United States evaluating the feasibility of poverty screening in paediatric oncology revealed promising results by assessing household material hardship with a short screening tool in routine care .…”

Feasibility of systematic poverty screening in a pediatric oncology referral center

“…These psychosocial standards were publicly endorsed by a majority of pediatric oncology national organizations, including the Children's Oncology Group, the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, the American Psychosocial Oncology Society, the Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers, and the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses, among others. In the intervening 3 years, studies investigating the implementation of these standards of care found that over 40% of centers report nonadherence to systematic assessment of family financial burden . These studies concluded that there is a need for more evidence‐based approaches to inform the feasibility of practically implementing systematic poverty screening across a wide range of pediatric oncology practices.…”

Are we meeting the training needs of healthcare and education professionals supporting children with cancer in their return to school?

“…This echoes data from Scialla and colleagues on the implementation of evidence‐based standards for psychosocial care for children with cancer in the United States, which indicated that support for school re‐entry (PSS11) was not consistently met . About 65.5% of participants identified a school program within their hospital and 87.5% identified a staff member responsible for coordinating communication between the patient/family, school, and healthcare team . The question then remains, how do we increase support for families when their child returns to school after cancer treatment?…”

“…To the Editor: Two recent PBC publications highlight that the school re‐entry needs of children with cancer and their families are currently not being met . Ruble and colleagues found approximately half of surveyed parents did not recall receiving information about neurocognitive effects and felt inadequately prepared for their child's return to school .…”