Supporting the Decision Making of Children With Cancer: A Meta-synthesis

Abstract

Background: Recently, awareness of children’s decision making has increased in an effort to enhance palliative care. However, the conceptual framework for decision making among children with cancer remains unclear. Aims: We clarified the decision-making process of children with cancer regarding their care, treatment, and support from family and health care professionals, and identified their needs and preferences. Design: We used metaethnography to conduct a metasynthesis of relevant studies. Data sources: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, and CINAHL. This report was prepared in accordance with the PRISMA statement. Results: Of the 7,237 retrieved studies, 27 met our inclusion criteria. Four themes emerged that reflected the decision-making process of children with cancer: (a) facing changes brought about by a health threat, (b) preparing for action, (c) asserting one’s choice, and (d) internal and external influences. Conclusion: Children with cancer initially undergo a decision-making process. Respecting children’s preferences, values, and emotions may help build trusting relationships and promote their decision-making capability. Future research should focus on children’s emotions, cognition, development, and interactions with parents and health care professionals.

Adolescents With Cancer Need Trustworthy Information and Prefer to Receive It From a Human Source Rather Than From the Internet: A Qualitative Study

“…The parents constitute their anchor and support system and they appreciate them as the mediators of information who adapt it for their children so that they will be able to deal with it. A meta-analysis conducted by Yamaji et al (2020) revealed similar findings, which highlighted that children perceived their parents as reliable suppliers of information and as an important support resource.…”

“…Thus, medical professionals should operate in sensitive ways to provide adolescents with access to information on various subjects, including sexuality. Open communication and trust relations between the medical staff, parents, and adolescents may be a key to enhancing the resilience and well-being of adolescents ( Mack et al, 2018 ; Yamaji et al, 2020 ). Besides human sources of information, there is room to consider developing technologies that will provide adolescents with personalized information appropriate for their needs, which will be available to them in any situation and at any time.…”

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“…9-ojo dešimtmečio skiriama vaiko teisei dalyvauti priimant sprendimus (Hultman et al, 2019). Užsienio šalių mokslininkai daug dėmesio skyrė įvairiai vaikų dalyvavimo teisės realizavimo aplinkai, sistemoms: šeimai (Cashmore & Parkinson, 2008;Heimer et al, 2018), sveikatos priežiūrai (Runeson et al, 2001;Coyne, 2008;Barry, 2014;Coyne, 2014;Grootens-Wiegers et al, 2017;Grootens-Wiegers et al, 2018;Olszewski & Goldkind, 2018;Yamaji et al, 2020;McPherson et al, 2021), institucinei globai (Bessell, 2011;Brummelaar et al, 2018;Vosz et al, 2020), švietimui (Laevers & Declercq, 2018), vaikų teisių apsaugai (Odinokova & Rusakova), miesto erdvių planavimui (Manouchehri & Burns, 2021). Šeimos aplinkoje nagrinėti vaikų dalyvavimo sprendimų klausimai tėvų skyrybų atveju (Cashmore & Parkinson, 2008).…”

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

“…It has been suggested that psychological care during cancer treatments is necessary to reduce the children’s psychological stress 6. Effective communication among patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals (HCPs) promotes that children adequately prepare for their treatments and future,7–10 while lack of information makes children anxious and distrustful of their parents and HCPs 11 12. Despite the potential benefits of communication, telling children about cancer is difficult for families and HCPs 13.…”