Palliative Care and Symptom Management for the Pediatric Oncology Patient

Completed

Conditions studied: Pediatric Cancers

In brief

The goal of this study is to learn about the communication, decision-making, symptom management, emotional adjustment, and spiritual needs of parents and pediatric patients treated at the Children's Cancer Hospital at M. D. Anderson (MCACC). Primary Objectives: 1. Determine the palliative care service needs of pediatric cancer patients and their parents, including communication, decision-making, symptom management, emotional and spiritual support when receiving treatment for early cancer, treatment for advanced disease, and treatment in the end-of-life period. 2. Identify intra-group differences in the categories listed in Objective 1 for pediatric cancer patients receiving treatment (a) for early cancer, (b) for advanced disease, and (c) at end-of-life. Secondary Objectives: 1\. Inform the development of a Pediatric Palliative Care Program at the Children's Cancer Hospital at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (MCACC or MDACC) based on identified needs as determined by primary study aims 1 and 2.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT00675467

Run by

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

People needed

13

Starts

2008-04-01

Last updated by the study team

2016-04-08

Who can join

Age: 10 and older, up to 18. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Inclusion for Children:
• 10-18 years of age
• MD Anderson Children's Cancer Center (MCACC) cancer patient
• receiving anti-cancer treatment for disease that is not recurrent or metastatic for cancer diagnosed in the past 3-12 mos or receiving anti-cancer treatment for recurrent or metastatic cancer diagnosed within the past 3-12 months
• speak \& understand English
• reside in the Greater Houston area
• provide IRB-approved pediatric assent or informed consent, as age appropriate
• if < 18 years of age, provide Internal Review Board (IRB)-approved parental permission
• child's eligibility is not contingent upon parent's decision to participate
• Inclusion for parents:
• self-identified parent(s) that has(have) a child eligible for study, per the inclusion and exclusion criteria noted above or has had a child (0-18 yrs of age at time of death) treated for cancer at MCACC who has died in the last 1 to 2 years
• speak and understand English
• reside in the Houston metropolitan area
• provide IRB-approved informed consent
• attend different focus groups if more than one eligible parent per child (max 2 parents per child)
• parent's eligibility is not contingent upon the child's decision to participate

You may not qualify if…

• Exclusion for Children:
• have cognitive impairment, developmental delay, or emotional distress that would limit participation in a group discussion, as determined by the clinical judgment of the investigator
• younger than 10 years or older than 18 years of age
• Exclusion for Caregiver:
• have cognitive impairment, developmental delay, or emotional distress that would limit participation in a group discussion, as determined by the clinical judgment of the investigator.

Where it is running

• University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center — Houston, Texas, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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