Measuring the quality of a childhood cancer care delivery system: quality indicator development.

Objectives: A set of indicators to assess the quality of a childhood cancer system has not been identified in any jurisdiction internationally, despite the movement toward increased accountability and provision of high-quality care with limited health care resources. This study was conducted to develop a set of quality indicators (QIs) of a childhood cancer control and health care delivery system in Ontario, Canada.

Methods: A systematic review and targeted gray literature search were conducted to identify potential childhood cancer QIs.

Measuring the quality of a childhood cancer care delivery system: assessing stakeholder agreement.

Objectives: We described previously the development of a set of quality indicators (QIs) of a childhood cancer system in Ontario, Canada. The purpose of this study was to determine the acceptability of the proposed set of QIs among stakeholders of the childhood cancer system.

Methods: A modified Delphi method was used to assess stakeholder agreement on the value of the proposed QIs.

I'll show them: the social construction of (in)competence in survivors of childhood brain tumors.

Multimodal therapy for the treatment of childhood cancer has resulted in increased survival rates, yet as growing cohorts of children mature, late effects are becoming apparent. Specifically, brain tumor survivors tend to have poor social skills, peer relationship problems, academic difficulties, and delayed college entry. This article addresses findings specific to the unique experience of childhood cancer survivors as they transition from adolescence to adulthood.

Incidence trends and projections for childhood cancer in Ontario.

Studies of cancer incidence patterns and trends can provide useful measures of health burden and possible disease etiology, which can aid the planning of cancer care services. This report aims to characterize trends in incidence of childhood cancer, and to assess the implications of these trends by generating incidence projections to 2015. Cancer incidence data were obtained from the database of the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO), which has registered all cancer cases in Ontario since 1985.

Childhood cancer registries in Ontario, Canada: lessons learned from a comparison of two registries.

Two childhood cancer registries exist in Ontario. One (POGO) accrues by active registration by pediatric cancer centers, utilizing a histologically based classification system. The other accrues by passive linkage within a larger adult oriented cancer registry (OCR) using a topographically based classification.