Research- and Practice-Based Nutrition Education and Cooking Workshops in Pediatric Oncology: Protocol for Implementation and Development of Curriculum

Abstract

BackgroundProgresses in childhood cancer treatment, diagnosis, and management have resulted in childhood cancer survival rates of over 80%. However, this therapeutic success comes with a heavy price: two-thirds of childhood cancer survivors will be affected by further complications, including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Adequate nutrition during cancer treatment is essential to ensure the child’s optimal development, improve tolerance to treatments, and can contribute to lower the risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases. Side effects of cancer treatments can negatively impact children’s nutritional intake and eating behaviors. Involving the families of childhood cancer patients in educational workshops could be a promising avenue to promote healthy eating during and after cancer treatment.ObjectiveThe objectives of this study were to develop, validate, and implement a family-based nutrition education and cooking workshop curriculum in a pediatric oncology setting that addresses the nutritional issues encountered during treatments while promoting the adoption of healthy eating habits for the prevention of long-term cardiometabolic effects.MethodsThe workshops were developed and validated following an 8-step iterative process, including a review of the literature and consultations with a steering committee. An evaluation tool was also developed. A nonrandomized study protocol was elaborated to implement the workshops and measure their impact. The themes of the 6 research- and practice-based lessons are as follows: meal fortification during cancer treatment, changes in taste during cancer therapy and their impact on children, adapting diet to eating-related side effects of treatments, nutritional support during cancer treatment, Mediterranean diet and health, and planning quick and economic meals. The validation process included consultations with the institution’s clinical nutrition professionals. Self-administered post questionnaires were developed according to the content of each workshop to measure short-term outcomes, namely, participants’ perception of knowledge acquisition, behavioral intention, and satisfaction. Medium-term outcomes that will be evaluated are participants’ anthropometric profile, quality of the diet, and circulating biomarkers of metabolic health.ResultsThe project was funded in 2016 and enrollment will be completed in 2021. Data analysis is currently under way and the first results are expected to be submitted for publication in 2019.ConclusionsThis research- and practice-based nutrition education and cooking demonstration curriculum could be a valuable complement to a multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention for the prevention of long-term cardiometabolic complications in childhood cancer.

Nutrition education and cooking workshops for families of children with cancer: a feasibility study

“…This work is part of the VIE (Valorization, Implication, Education) multidisciplinary study including nutritional, psychological and physical activity interventions at Sainte-Justine University Health Center (SJUHC) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The development of the curriculum of the VIE nutritional and culinary workshops has been described elsewhere [22]. Briefly, the workshops were developed and tested following an 8step iterative process, including a review of the literature and consultations with a steering committee.…”

“…The participant questionnaires were only used to assess study feasibility and thus were not validated. The development of the questionnaire is described elsewhere [22]. Briefly, in each workshop, 2 to 3 key messages were delivered and the questions related to perception of knowledge acquisition were in line with each key message.…”

“…Most of the existing nutrition education interventions in childhood cancer were designed for patients at the end of their treatment or for survivors [14][15][16][17][18][19][20] and few have included a culinary component [21,22]. However, intervening at the end of cancer treatment might be too late to reverse the acquired food habits [18].…”

Nutrition education and cooking workshops for families of children with cancer: a feasibility study

“…This work is part of the VIE (Valorization, Implication, Education) multidisciplinary study including nutritional, psychological and physical activity interventions at Sainte-Justine University Health Center (SJUHC) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The development of the curriculum of the VIE nutritional and culinary workshops has been described elsewhere [23]. Briefly, the workshops were developed and tested following an 8-step iterative process, including a review of the literature and consultations with a steering committee.…”

“…Most of the existing nutrition education interventions in childhood cancer were designed for patients at the end of their treatment or for survivors [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] and few have included a culinary component [22,23]. However, intervening at the end of cancer treatment might be too late to reverse the acquired food habits [19].…”