Publications by authors named "Vivian Christensen"

Family caregivers of children diagnosed with cancer often experience periods of significant stress. We provide an in-depth examination of the impacts of structural (health care and leave policies) and meso-level (organizations and communities/social networks) factors on caregiver coping during childhood cancer treatment. We conducted a secondary analysis of a comprehensive qualitative dataset examining the impacts of structural and meso-level factors on caregiver coping from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 49 caregivers representing 38 unique cases of childhood cancer.

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Article Synopsis
  • This qualitative study explores the mental health and supportive care needs of caregivers of children with cancer, aiming to uncover their lived experiences and stressors.
  • The research employed semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, revealing that caregivers struggle with balancing their roles while witnessing their child's difficult cancer treatments, contributing to increased trauma.
  • The findings underscore the necessity for enhanced emotional support for caregivers, which could improve both their quality of life and the caregiver-child relationship during and after treatment.*
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Background: Completing therapy for childhood cancer is an exciting milestone. However, this adjustment can be extremely stressful for patients and their families as they transition from cancer patient to survivor. A better understanding of the patient and family experience and their needs during this transition is crucial for developing guidelines and leveraging support for future patients and families.

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Aims And Objectives: To describe the facilitators and barriers of getting from 'something's not right' to a childhood cancer diagnosis from the perspective of parents living in the United States of America.

Background: It is common for families to experience long trajectories from when they first notice symptoms to receiving a childhood cancer diagnosis. Understanding this trajectory within the social and cultural contexts of the United States healthcare system is the first step in developing strategies for reducing this timeframe and mitigating some of the psychosocial impact for parents in receiving a childhood cancer diagnosis.

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Understanding patient and caregiver experiences is a critical component of the conception, design, and implementation of clinical research studies. The "Database of Individual Patient Experiences" (DIPEx) is an innovative, evidence-based approach for eliciting rich information about health experiences. We conducted a formative evaluation with 14 pediatric oncology researchers to assess the value of using data from a DIPEx study on patient and caregiver experiences with childhood cancer to inform patient-centered research in pediatric oncology.

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Health systems currently underutilize systematic reviews. Here, we describe a proof of concept project designed to augment the standard systematic review process by presenting qualitative information as a companion to a review on deprescribing interventions. We conducted a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with Veterans Health Administration clinicians and Veterans to describe first-hand experiences of engaging in the deprescribing process.

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Background: The legalization of cannabis is expanding across the USA, and its use has increased significantly, including among Veterans. Although the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) abides by the classification of cannabis as a Schedule I substance, it recently recommended that clinicians discuss cannabis with their patients. Little is known about VHA clinicians' perspectives on and knowledge of cannabis.

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Background: Evidence use within learning health care systems can improve patient health outcomes. Embedded in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) since 2007, the Veterans Affairs Evidence Synthesis Program (ESP) provides tailored evidence synthesis services to support VHA's learning health care system goals. As part of the ESP's ongoing quality improvement efforts, we have been surveying our users since 2016.

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Background: Patient health outcomes improve when learning health care systems use evidence to implement promising services and allocate resources effectively. Here, we examine the unique environment in which Veterans Health Administration (VHA) leadership use evidence and the facilitators and barriers to using evidence synthesis products in decision-making. We end by describing the steps researchers can take to better support the needs of health system leadership.

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Background: To provide evidence synthesis for faster-paced healthcare decision-making, rapid reviews have emerged as a streamlined alternative to standard systematic reviews. In 2012, the Veterans Affairs Evidence-based Synthesis Program (VA ESP) added rapid reviews to support Veterans Health Administration (VHA) operational partners' more urgent decision-making needs. VHA operational partners play a substantial role in dissemination of ESP rapid reviews through a variety of routes, including posting on the VA ESP's public website ( http://www.

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Background: Sudden cardiac death is a major cause of death in the United States. Most cases occur outside the hospital, yet little is known about the symptoms and actions of individuals who die before reaching the hospital.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the symptoms, symptom management, and care-seeking patterns in sudden cardiac death victims.

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