Addressing behavioral impacts of childhood leukemia: A feasibility pilot randomized controlled trial of a group videoconferencing parenting intervention
Section snippets
Background
Despite high survival rates, treatments for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), contribute to psychological morbidity. A commonly reported and distressing psychological impact of ALL treatment, occurring in up to 86% of children, is behavioral and mood disturbance (Pound et al., 2012, Williams et al., 2014, Williams and McCarthy, 2015). Child emotional “outbursts” including physical and verbal aggression, anxiety, moodiness, irritability, as well as behavioral difficulties, such as
Participants
Eligible participants were parents with a child aged between 2 and 8 years receiving maintenance phase treatment for ALL at the Children's Cancer Centre, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne Australia (RCH CCC). Study exclusion criteria included being a non-English speaking parent and having a child who had a co-existing developmental disorder or disability. Eleven of the 12 participants were in a married/defacto relationship. Maintenance phase treatment typically commences 12 months
Results
There were no group differences in baseline child and parent sociodemographic variables or parent reported total child emotional and behavioral difficulties (Table 1).
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility, acceptability and satisfaction of a parenting intervention amongst parents of children with ALL. Results indicated that, for parents completing the intervention, satisfaction and acceptability were high. In terms of intervention feasibility, study completion by eligible parents was low (31.6%), and lower than that observed elsewhere (Fedele et al., 2013, Sassmann et al., 2012). The majority of parents who declined to participate or
Conclusion
In conclusion, results of the current study show preliminary support for the feasibility, acceptability and satisfaction of a parenting intervention. The importance of parenting interventions during key stages of child development and when co-occurring with chronic childhood illness cannot be underestimated. Furthering our understanding of not only the type of intervention that may assist families in a pediatric oncology context, but also the feasibility of implementing support, is paramount to
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare there are no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Ponting Foundation, Murdoch Childrens Research Institution and the Victorian Government Department of Human Services and Operational Infrastructure Support Program. We gratefully acknowledge the parents who participated in the study, and Madeleine Bowden and Erin Lloyd, the project research assistants who assisted with participant recruitment and provided technical support during video-conference sessions.
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