Subject
awareness; behavior change; care behavior; caregiver; child; childhood cancer; conference abstract; controlled study; counseling; financial management; health care delivery; health care personnel; health care planning; human; interview; long term survival; needs assessment; nutrition; palliative therapy; Philippines; psychosocial care; travel
Description
Background: Around 200,000 pediatric clients are diagnosed with cancer each year globally. Majority (84%) of cancer cases are found in developing countries with 20% average survival rate (Ferlay et al, 2012). Two-thirds of pediatric oncology clients in the Philippines are diagnosed at advanced stages (Lecciones, 2015). Abandonment of treatment is high at 80%. Only about 10%- 20% of clients attain long-term survival despite availability of multidisciplinary management. These outcomes reflect the gap in service delivery for pediatric oncology clients (Ferlay et al, 2012). Therefore, to improve accessibility to healthcare, it is necessary to determine the perceived palliative care needs of clients, their caregivers, and healthcare providers.