Evidence-based interventions for survivors of childhood cancer and their families

To summarize existing empirical reports of psychological interventions for children with cancer and their families and to outline directions for future work.

Research accomplishments related to four areas were summarized: understanding and reducing procedural pain; realizing long-term consequences; appreciating distress at diagnosis and over time; and knowing the importance of social relationships. Recommendations for future research in this field were discussed in three domains: balancing competence and psychopathology; integrating research-based interventions into clinical care; future directions).

Interventions related to procedural pain and distress have strong empirical support. Although most survivors of childhood cancer and their families adjust quite well as they complete treatment, evidence-based interventions during and after treatment that address cancer-specific sequelae represent important growing areas of work. In the future, the development of interventions to address emerging survivorship issues will be vital, and theoretically grounded, evidence-based pragmatic interventions will be necessary.