Abstract

Transitioning off cancer treatment is a momentous occasion for pediatric patients and their families, but also brings anxiety and fear, suggesting that there are unmet needs/gaps in services provided at the end of treament. After examining the process of transitioning off cancer treatment, the hematology/oncology nursing research workforce group wished to determine if the current practices at our institution are meeting the needs of our patients and their parents/caregivers.

The experiences and needs of pediatric cancer patients and their parents/caregivers at the end of treatment, as reported in the literature, are predominantly descriptive studies with small sample sizes, restricting generalizability of results. Additionally, there is limited research evaluating existing programs and services at the end of treament. The "Coming off Treatment" questionnaire (COT) (Nagel, et al., 2002) was developed to assess issues important to parents of children completing cancer therpy. Although this questionnaire has been utilized in two studies to date, no psychometric information based on the COT has been published.

The purpose of this study was to adapt the COT into End of Treatment (EOT) questionnaires for both children with cancer and their parent/caregivers, and to validate these EOT questionnaires.

Description

This research was funded by a J. Patrick Barnes Nursing Research Grant, provided by the DAISY Foundation

Author Details

Mary Conway, MSN, RN, CPHON, Mu Chapter; Courtney King, RN, CPON; Leigh Hart BSN, RN, CPON; Andrew Needham, BSN, RN; Elizabeth Holden, BSN, RN, CPHON; Tiffany Ruiz, BSN, RN; Ruth Lucas PhD, RN, Mu Chapter

Sigma Membership

Mu

Type

Poster

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Other

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

Children, Parents, Instrument Development/instrument Validation, Cancer, Adolescent

Conference Name

Annual Symposium

Conference Host

Connecticut Children's Medical Center

Conference Location

Groton, Connecticut, USA

Conference Year

2017

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

Peer-review: Single Blind

Acquisition

Self-submission

Additional Files

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Partnering with families to validate questionnaires assessing unmet needs of children, adolescents, and parents/caregivers at the end of cancer treatment

Groton, Connecticut, USA

Transitioning off cancer treatment is a momentous occasion for pediatric patients and their families, but also brings anxiety and fear, suggesting that there are unmet needs/gaps in services provided at the end of treament. After examining the process of transitioning off cancer treatment, the hematology/oncology nursing research workforce group wished to determine if the current practices at our institution are meeting the needs of our patients and their parents/caregivers.

The experiences and needs of pediatric cancer patients and their parents/caregivers at the end of treatment, as reported in the literature, are predominantly descriptive studies with small sample sizes, restricting generalizability of results. Additionally, there is limited research evaluating existing programs and services at the end of treament. The "Coming off Treatment" questionnaire (COT) (Nagel, et al., 2002) was developed to assess issues important to parents of children completing cancer therpy. Although this questionnaire has been utilized in two studies to date, no psychometric information based on the COT has been published.

The purpose of this study was to adapt the COT into End of Treatment (EOT) questionnaires for both children with cancer and their parent/caregivers, and to validate these EOT questionnaires.