Constipation is prevalent in pediatric oncology patients because of treatment with vinca alkaloids and/or narcotics and lifestyle changes secondary to disease process. Sequelae of constipation include anorexia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain,…
Fatigue in adults with cancer has received considerable attention as a troublesome symptom that requires nursing intervention. Fatigue in children with cancer, however, has received considerably less focus. The first phase of the present study used…
Children with cancer experience multiple symptoms at end of life (EOL) that impair their health-related quality of life. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, this integrative literature review…
This study evaluated the potential impact of an online spiritual care educational program on pediatric nurses' attitudes toward and knowledge of spiritual care and their competence to provide spiritual care to children with cancer at the end of life.…
Introduction: For children with cancer, early integration of pediatric palliative care in conjunction with curative treatments is recommended. In Switzerland, pediatric palliative care is mostly provided by an interdisciplinary primary oncology team…
This qualitative study explored bereaved parents’ and siblings’ reports of legacies created by children with advanced cancer. Participants included 40 families of children who died from cancer, with 36 mothers, 27 fathers, and 40 siblings (ages 8-18…
Over twelve thousand children are diagnosed each year with cancer, and approximately 2200 children die each year from the disease. A percentage of these patients experiences escalating and intractable distress with symptoms that include pain,…
The aim of this research is to examine the experience and impact of chemotherapy-related fatigue in recently diagnosed pediatric oncology patients. A repeated-measures, within-subjects, mixed (quantitative plus qualitative) design was used to…
During the past decade, palliative care at home has become an alternative option to hospital care for terminally ill children. This study describes the experience of caring for a dying child at home from a parent's perspective. A qualitative research…
The potential clinical application of family management styles for working with families who have children with cancer is discussed. Case studies are used to illustrate the usefulness and clinical application of the model.
The doctorate in nursing practice (DNP) degree is recommended as the terminal degree for advanced practice nurses by 2015. Improvement in the quality of palliative and end-of-life care for children with cancer is recognized as a health care priority.…
A diagnosis of childhood cancer is an unexpected life event that often precipitates a situational crisis for all family members. Required cancer treatments and other ongoing stressors for both child and family will significantly disrupt the family's…
OBJECTIVE: To review the literature on cultural factors influencing clinical care and family management of pediatric cancer. METHODS: A literature review including 72 articles related to cultural issues in pediatric cancer was conducted. Information…
In pediatric oncology nursing, and across practice disciplines in general, clinical research serves as the cornerstone for improving patient care. Historically, advances made in the care and cure of childhood cancer have stemmed directly from…
Approximately 2,200 children and adolescents die a cancer-related death each year in the United States; of these, almost 90% will die while experiencing 2 to 8 troubling symptoms. With improved symptom control and end-of-life care, these patients…
This article describes the process of translating the Family Management Style (FMS) Framework into a measure of FMS Survey. The conceptual underpinnings of the FMS Survey are briefly described as are the steps for translating the FMS major components…
Qualitative studies of families with children who have cancer or other serious illnesses have found that families often come to view their child and their lives as normal. They manage illness-related demands using family management styles that…
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the mother's experience of having a child diagnosed with cancer. Semistructured interview questions, focused specifically on values, provided the foundation for the study. Each of the 9…
Of the 100,000 children who die each year in the United States, close to 15,000 children could benefit from hospice/home care services. This article describes the concept of pediatric hospice care, reviews the Martinson study that was conducted in…
Children living with and dying from advanced cancer and their families experience significant suffering. The cure of disease and the relief of suffering are dual moral obligations of our professions. To relieve suffering, health care providers must…
Children living with and dying from advanced cancer and their families experience significant suffering. The cure of disease and the relief of suffering are dual moral obligations of our professions. To relieve suffering, health care providers must…
Purpose:To assess adolescent and young adult siblings' perception of social support prior to and following the loss of their brother or sister to cancer, 2 to 9 years earlier, and their anxiety at follow-up. Method: In 2009, 174 (73%) bereaved…
Providing end-of-life care to children with cancer is most ideally achieved by initiating palliative care at the time of diagnosis, advocating for supportive care throughout the treatment trajectory, and implementing hospice care during the terminal…
OBJECTIVE: This multicenter, parallel-group, randomized trial examined the effects of an animal-assisted intervention on the stress, anxiety, and health-related quality of life for children diagnosed with cancer and their parents. METHOD: Newly…
It is important for the health care community to understand the impact of a child’s death on parent functioning. Yet involving bereaved parents in research that enquires about such a stressful time in their life can potentially bring harm to them.…
The content of personal Web home pages created by adolescents with cancer is a new source of information about this population of potential benefit to oncology nurses and psychologists. Individual Internet elements found on 21 home pages created by…
This article describes the use and effectiveness of adjuvant propofol for pain control for pediatric oncology patients at the end of life. All patients experienced severe pain and agitation, not well controlled by continuous infusion opioids and…
When a child is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, such as cancer, there is much disruption to the family. It is a struggle for parents to divide their time between the hospital, home, and other healthy siblings. Nurses strive to provide…
When a child is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, such as cancer, there is much disruption to the family. It is a struggle for parents to divide their time between the hospital, home, and other healthy siblings. Nurses strive to provide…
To explore siblings'needs and issues when a brother or sister dies of cancer, interviews were conducted with 10 surviving children and young adults. The siblings expressed dissatisfaction with the information they had received and said that they had…
It is essential to examine conflict between patients and health care professionals from the patient's perspective. The purposes of this study were to 1) identify sources of conflict, 2) determine nursing interventions that alleviate conflict, and 3)…
There is a distinct lack of literature related to the spiritual care of parents whose children with cancer are at the end of life. This has led to a dearth in evidence about how nurses may intervene with spiritual care interventions to best support…
