Health-related quality of life in Austrian elementary school children.

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQL) is frequently used as an outcome criterion to evaluate the quality and effect of different therapies. However, little is known about the HRQL of the general population, the prevalence of specific HRQL problems and about which factors have an impact on HRQL assessments.

Objective: To examine children's HRQL from their own and their parents' perspectives.

Quality of life from research and clinical perspectives: an example from paediatric psycho-oncology.

In clinical oncology and research, health-related quality of life (HRQL) of patients has increasingly gained attention. Although there is agreement that HRQL is a multidimensional construct incorporating primarily the patient's evaluation of his/her life, the construct lacks a uniform model of conceptualization. This article briefly outlines definitions and methods of assessing quality of life in children and adolescents.

Glucocorticoids in the treatment of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and hodgkin's disease: a pilot study on the adverse psychological reactions and possible associations with neurobiological, endocrine, and genetic markers.

Purpose: We did a controlled study to assess adverse psychological reactions (APR) associated with high-dose glucocorticoid therapy and tried to detect somatic correlates for the observed reactions.

Patients And Methods: Our study included 37 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 11 patients with Morbus Hodgkin (MH) disease, who were treated with high-dose glucocorticoid therapy, and 26 control patients with other types of malignancies. APRs were assessed with a standardized measure via parent-report.

Health-related quality of life of pediatric patients receiving allogeneic stem cell or bone marrow transplantation: results of a longitudinal, multi-center study.

The results of a 5-year longitudinal prospective study about the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of pediatric patients receiving allogeneic bone marrow or stem cell transplantation (BMT) are described. The patients' HRQL was assessed twice before, and five times after BMT, the end point being 1 year after BMT. For the measurement of HRQL, standardized questionnaires were completed by patients, parents and physicians.

Quality of life in long-term childhood cancer survivors and the relation of late effects and subjective well-being.

Goals: The purpose of the present study was the assessment of health-related quality of life in adult long-term survivors of childhood cancer and the detection of possible treatment- and cancer-related late effects. The relation of objective medical data and subjective appraisal was also examined by combining the doctor's and the patient's views of the perceived health status.

Patients And Methods: Seventy-eight young adults at the age of at least 18 years who had been diagnosed with cancer in the years 1975-1995 and were off therapy at least 5 years with no evidence of disease participated.

Validation of the German version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) in childhood cancer patients off treatment and children with epilepsy.

The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) is a relatively new instrument developed in the US to assess health-related quality of life (HRQL) in healthy and ill children and adolescents. It is quick and easy to use, suitable for assessment by children and parents and based on a modular approach with a generic measure addressing all general domains of HRQL and disease-specific modules. We report here the results of translating the original US generic core instrument and the cancer module into German and testing the German PedsQL in samples of paediatric patients who have been treated for cancer or epilepsy.

The TCCS-A short measure to evaluate treatment-related coping and compliance in hospitalised childhood cancer patients and their primary caregivers.

Goals: This report describes the development and validation of a short rating system to assess treatment-related coping and compliance (TCC) in childhood cancer patients and their primary caregivers.

Patients And Methods: The initial system contained 21 items referring to supportive parenting style of the caregiver, treatment-related attitudes and behaviour of both caregiver and child, communicative skills of the child and relationships with the health care team. This questionnaire was completed independently by a nurse, a nursery-school teacher, a psychologist and a physician who are all working full time at the oncology unit.

Using a children's book to prepare children and parents for elective ENT surgery: results of a randomized clinical trial.

Objective: We evaluated the effects of surgery preparation using a children's book on pre- and postoperative anxiety and distress in 2-10 years old children undergoing tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy and their mothers.

Methods: Parents of the experimental group were given the preparation book during the preoperative visit at the hospital, whilst control subjects did not receive the book. Data collection was conducted on the evening prior to surgery (T1), and the evening post surgery (T2).

German cross-cultural adaptation of the Health Utilities Index and its application to a sample of childhood cancer survivors.

Unlabelled: Steady progress in developing effective treatments for childhood cancer and other severe pediatric diseases has established the need to consider the nature and frequency of late physical and psychological effects. The Health Utilities Index Mark 2 and Mark 3 (HUI2/3) systems were developed by Feeny, Furlong, Torrance et al. in Canada.

Psychosocial adjustment of pediatric patients after allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

The purpose of this study was to assess the psychosocial adjustment of patients who had been treated with allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) in our clinic. Selection criteria for patients were to be aged 14-30 years at the time of the follow-up, to be at least 2 years post-SCT and to have a very good knowledge of German. Among 31 eligible patients, 26 participated (84% response rate).

Organ toxicity and quality of life after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in pediatric patients: a single centre retrospective analysis.

One hundred and fifty five pediatric patients underwent allogeneic bone marrow transplantation between 1980 and 1996 in the St Anna Children's Hospital in Vienna with an overall survival of 52.3% (81 patients). Seventy-three patients with a minimum observation time of 1 year (1-13 years, median: 4.

Guidelines for assistance to terminally ill children with cancer: a report of the SIOP Working Committee on psychosocial issues in pediatric oncology.

This, the sixth official document of the SIOP Working Committee on psychosocial issues in pediatric oncology, develops another important and especially difficult topic: assistance for terminally ill children with cancer. This is provided for the pediatric oncology community as a useful set of guidelines. It should be always possible for a declining child to die without unnecessary physical pain, fear, or anxiety.

Quality of life and psychosocial adjustment of young patients after treatment of bone cancer.

Background: The aim of this study was to collect information about the psychosocial situation of young patients after multimodality therapy for bone cancer.

Methods: Selection criteria for patients were ages 15-30 years, tumor localization at the extremities, and an interval of at least 1 year since the end of treatment. Of 110 patients, 60 were willing to participate.

Guidelines for a therapeutic alliance between families and staff: a report of the SIOP Working Committee on Psychosocial Issues in Pediatric Oncology.

This, the fifth official document of the SIOP Working Committee on Psychosocial Issues in Pediatric Oncology, develops another important topic: the Therapeutic Alliance between families and staff. This is addressed to the Pediatric Oncology Community as Guidelines that could be followed. Every parent, medical staff member, and psychosocial professional involved in the care of the child should be responsible for cooperating in the child's best interest.