Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Feraco, Angela
• Revette, Anna
• Stevens, Sarah
• Merz, Alexandra
• Wolfe, Joanne

Titel

Communication, Presence, and Parity: Professionals’ Views of Barriers and Facilitators to Promoting Quality of Life for Children with Cancer (RP414)

Ist Teil von

• Journal of pain and symptom management, 2022-06, Vol.63 (6), p.1090

Ort / Verlag

Madison: Elsevier Limited

Erscheinungsjahr

2022

Quelle

Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts (ASSIA)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Outcomes. 1. Appraise emerging themes of barriers and facilitators to promoting quality of life among children with cancer from the perspective of healthcare professionals 2. Evaluate trustworthiness of a qualitative study Importance. Intensive childhood cancer treatment produces suffering. In addition to physical symptoms, children miss out on life events and experience social isolation. Professionals' attitudes and actions shape children's lives during cancer treatment. Objective(s). We sought to understand professionals' role expectations for themselves and others to relieve suffering and promote joy, meaning, and accomplishment for children in their care; perceived barriers and facilitators to promoting quality of life (QOL) for children in their care; and how team dynamics promote or impede QOL for children in their care. Method(s). We used theoretical sampling and conducted semistructured interviews of professionals working in a pediatric oncology center. Professionals were invited to participate via email, and interviews were conducted face-to-face, by telephone, or via secure video conference by nonclinical members of the research team. Through constant comparative analysis, early interviews informed subsequent data collection. Thematic analysis incorporated the following data sources: audio-recordings, interview transcripts, debriefing discussions with interviewers, and memos. Results. Fifteen interviews were conducted in April to September 2021 with oncologists (MDs/NPs), nurses, social workers, child life specialists, chaplains, and psychologists. Communication to share information and build on each other's ideas emerged as a central theme. Issues of presence and parity emerged: Physical distancing and restrictive visitation policies due to the COVID-19 pandemic were impediments to promoting QOL. Others perceived less patient isolation and exclusion when "normal life" seemed universally out of reach. Changes in working patterns induced by COVID-19 were seen as threats to communication and, by extension, to patients' QOL. Efforts to ensure communication were perceived to be asymmetric, leaving some clinicians feeling devalued. Conclusion(s). Communication, presence, and parity emerged as preliminary facilitators and barriers to working interprofessionally to promote QOL, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Impact. Understanding professionals' attitudes and actions around QOL for children with cancer will inform future interventions to prevent and relieve suffering.