Influences of Animal-Assisted Intervention With Canine and Feline Pen Pals on Experiences of Living With Cancer and Blood Disorders in Children and Adolescents.

Animal-assisted intervention (AAI) involving live visits with canines shows strong promise to improve quality of life (QOL) in hospitalized youth with cancer or blood disorders. The emerging field of virtual AAI allows access to AAI regardless of setting and extends to children at home. Youth and Pet Survivors™ (YAPS) is a novel form of virtual AAI with dog and cat pen pals who share a diagnosis of cancer or serious illness.

Digital Stories Created by Children With Advanced Cancer.

Legacy building is a priority for pediatric oncology. Storytelling is one strategy to help children document their legacies. Understanding story content would advance knowledge of how children want to be remembered but this has yet to be explored.

Impact of Animal-Assisted Interaction on Anxiety in Children With Advanced Cancer and Their Caregivers.

Pediatric patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers have unique psychosocial needs. Anxiety often worsens throughout treatment for both patients and parents, and, if undertreated, can cause suffering. Animal-assisted interaction (AAI) incorporates animals into patient care in a structured manner for the purpose of therapeutic benefit.

Associations between parental depression, communication, and self-worth of siblings bereaved by cancer.

A child's death from cancer may increase the risk for poor self-worth in bereaved siblings. Furthermore, bereaved parents may experience depressive symptoms and communicate differently with their surviving children. However, limited research has examined family factors associated with self-worth in bereaved siblings.

Relationships Between Parental Anxiety and Child Quality of Life in Advanced Childhood Cancer.

Family factors, such as household income and parental psychosocial distress, have been associated with quality of life in children with cancer. However, relationships between parent anxiety and child health-related quality of life (HRQoL) have not been evaluated in children with advanced cancer. To examine relationships between parent anxiety and both parent-reported and child self-reported HRQoL for children with advanced cancer.

Postoperative opioid administration and post-traumatic stress symptoms in preschool children after cardiac surgery.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between postoperative opioid administration and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in preschool-aged children surviving cardiac surgery.

Design And Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study using survey administration and medical chart review. Primary caregivers of children aged three to six years who underwent cardiac surgery at our institution between 2018 and 2020 were invited to participate.

Factors associated with mental health service use among families bereaved by pediatric cancer.

Objectives: We identified types of interventions used by bereaved family members and examined associations with demographic and medical factors. Furthermore, we examined associations between distress and intervention use among bereaved families.

Methods: Bereaved families ( = 85) were recruited from three children's hospitals 3-12 months after their child died of cancer.

Effects of a Web-Based Pediatric Oncology Legacy Intervention on the Coping of Children With Cancer.

Background: Recurrent or refractory cancer often results in substantial and extensive physical, emotional, psychosocial, and spiritual burdens for children and their families. However, the therapeutic benefits of legacy interventions in children with recurrent or refractory cancer have been examined only recently, with limited attention to specific effects on children's coping abilities.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a digital storytelling-legacy intervention on the adaptive coping of children with recurrent or refractory cancer.

Ethical Considerations in Oncology and Palliative Care Research During COVID-19.

Researchers and clinicians must collaborate to consider alternative approaches to conduct standard protocol activities and deliver interventions during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has required researchers at many institutions to modify traditional in-person research to virtually delivered activities and still adhere to healthcare ethical principles of beneficence, justice, and respect for persons. Our objective is to describe ethical considerations faced by nurse investigators who modified research conducted in pediatric oncology during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Animal-Assisted Interventions for Children with Advanced Cancer: Child and Parent Perceptions.

The burden of relapsed/refractory childhood cancer takes an immense toll on ill children and their caregivers, jeopardizing quality of life. Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) have shown promising benefits for children with chronic conditions and their families. Little is known about child and caregiver perspectives on AAI participation for children with advanced cancer.

The effects of animal-assisted interactions on quality of life in children with life-threatening conditions and their parents.

Background: Children with advanced cancer and their primary caregivers may experience severe stress and anxiety in coping with their life-threatening condition. As a way to help reduce these stressors and increase overall quality of life, research suggests that animal-assisted interactions may be beneficial when integrated into palliative care.

Aims: This pilot study aims to provide evidence for the feasibility and efficacy of a randomised clinical trial using animal-assisted interactions to help improve the quality of life for children with an advanced life-threatening condition and their primary caregivers.

Facebook Recruitment for Children with Advanced Cancer and Their Parents: Lessons from a Web-based Pediatric Palliative Intervention Study.

Participant recruitment for pediatric palliative intervention studies is a chronic challenge for researchers. Digital recruitment strategies, or digital technology-assisted recruitment methods used to remotely reach and enroll research subjects, can help address these recruitment challenges for pediatric palliative care clinical trials. This study (a) describes Facebook recruitment procedures targeting children with cancer and their parents for a pediatric palliative intervention randomized clinical trial, (b) reports recruitment results, and (c) discusses successful strategies to recruit pediatric populations via Facebook advertisements.

Improved Parent-Child Communication following a RCT Evaluating a Legacy Intervention for Children with Advanced Cancer.

Although legacy-building is a priority for quality palliative care, research has rarely examined effects of legacy interventions in children, particularly their impact on parent-child communication.We examined the impact of a web-based legacy intervention on parent-child communication. We hypothesized that compared to usual care, legacy-making would improve quality of parent-child communication.

Research Cooperative Groups in Pediatric Palliative Care Research.

Research cooperative groups aim to facilitate collaborative and rigorous palliative care research. The purpose of this article is to (1) demonstrate how cooperative groups are taking formal and sustainable steps with commitment to pediatric palliative care research programs and (2) provide an example of how one cooperative group is implementing these innovative efforts to partner with programs to integrate pediatrics on an expanding scale. Details are described for how pediatric studies can benefit from cooperative group infrastructure and expertise.

Parental Posttraumatic Growth After Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant.

Little is known about the development of posttraumatic growth among parents of children with serious advanced disease. The purpose of this study is to describe parental posttraumatic growth 100 days after pediatric stem cell transplant. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study of 24 parents, approximately 100 days after their children received stem cell transplant.

Impact of End-of-Life Circumstances on the Adjustment of Bereaved Siblings of Children Who Died from Cancer.

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of end-of-life (EoL) circumstances on grief and internalizing symptoms among bereaved siblings. Bereaved families (N = 88) were recruited from three sites 3-12 months (M = 11.57, SD = 3.

Songwriting intervention for cognitively-impaired children with life-limiting conditions: Study protocol.

Investigations evaluating the effectiveness of music-based interventions as a complementary approach to symptom management and health promotion for cognitively-impaired children with life-limiting conditions and their families are needed to minimize the physical and psychological burdens on individuals and their caregivers. Songwriting is one music-based strategy for a remote family-centered complementary approach to improve outcomes for cognitively-impaired children with life-limiting conditions, their parents, and families. The overall purpose of this study is to test the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a songwriting intervention for cognitively-impaired children (ages 5-17 years) who are receiving palliative or complex care and their parents.

Effects of a Web-Based Pediatric Oncology Legacy Intervention on Parental Coping.

Objectives: To examine the effects of a legacy intervention for children with advanced cancer and their parents on parental coping strategies.

Sample & Setting: The authors recruited 150 children with advanced cancer and their parents via Facebook.

Methods & Variables: Child-parent dyads were randomly assigned to the intervention or usual care.

Parent Caregiving Experiences and Posttraumatic Growth Following Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant.

Parents of children recovering from hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) experience significant distress due to unpredictable and potentially life-threatening complications. Distress is heightened by intensive caregiving parents provide the child during the first 100 days after HSCT. Management of distress and adaptation to caregiving responsibilities may be enhanced if parents find benefit in their experiences through posttraumatic growth (PTG), yet little is known about how parents' experiences after HSCT foster PTG.

The Influence of Parent Distress and Parenting on Bereaved Siblings' Externalizing Problems.

Objectives: Bereaved siblings experience more externalizing problems compared to non-bereaved peers and norms; however, the mechanisms explaining this phenomenon have not been empirically examined. This study tested the serial indirect effects of sibling bereavement on adolescents' externalizing problems through parent distress (i.e.

Randomized Clinical Trial of a Legacy Intervention for Quality of Life in Children with Advanced Cancer.

Legacy-making (actions/behaviors aimed at being remembered) may be a significant component for quality of life (QOL) during advanced illness and end of life. Although legacy interventions have been tested in adults, the impact of legacy activities on QOL for children has yet to be clearly defined. This study examined the impact of our newly developed web-based legacy intervention on dimensions of QOL among children (7-17 years old) with advanced cancer.

Transplantation and Adherence: Evaluating Tacrolimus Usage in Pediatric Patients With Cancer.

Background: Researchers have estimated that about 50% of pediatric patients with chronic illness adhere to tacrolimus therapy, a medication responsible for preventing critical side effects in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe patient adherence to tacrolimus by reviewing documentation from the electronic health record and therapeutic drug levels.

Methods: This retrospective descriptive study examined 357 clinic visits by 57 patients undergoing HSCT.

Transforming a Face-to-Face Legacy Intervention to a Web-Based Legacy Intervention for Children With Advanced Cancer.

Research is needed to examine new and innovative web-based intervention delivery methods that are feasible, cost-effective, and acceptable to children and their families to increase access to palliative care services in the home and community. Our previous work included the development of a legacy intervention using face-to-face digital storytelling for children with cancer that showed feasibility and strong promise to improve child outcomes. However, face-to-face intervention delivery techniques limited our recruitment, thus decreasing sample size and potential access to broader populations.

Factors Affecting Time NICU Nurses Spend With Fathers: Results From a Larger Study.

Background: Father involvement in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is important for outcomes of children and should be encouraged. Neonatal nurses have been identified as a major source of support for fathers; yet, nurses have identified obstacles to family-centered care of the father.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to present results that broaden the knowledge of factors that affect time NICU nurses spend with fathers.

Parent and Child Preferences and Styles of Communication About Cancer Diagnoses and Treatment.

Communication challenges frequently occur among families and health care providers of children with life-threatening conditions. These obstacles compound concerns related to children's diagnoses and treatment, the family's quality of life, and delivery of care. Developmentally appropriate and validated methods of addressing the communication preferences of families with chronically ill children are limited.