Improved Parent-Child Communication following a RCT Evaluating a Legacy Intervention for Children with Advanced...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Palliative Care
• Childhood Oncology
• Family Communication

Background:

• Legacy-building is crucial in pediatric palliative care.
• Research on legacy interventions' impact on parent-child communication is limited.
• Understanding these effects is vital for improving quality of life for children with advanced cancer.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the impact of a web-based legacy intervention on parent-child communication.
• To test the hypothesis that legacy-making improves parent-child communication compared to usual care.

Main Methods:

• Recruited families of children (7-17) with relapsed/refractory cancer.
• Randomly assigned parent-child dyads to an intervention or usual care group.
• Intervention group used a website to create digital storyboards; communication assessed pre- and post-intervention.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant difference in overall parent-child communication changes between groups.
• Meaningful intervention effects were observed, particularly for father-child communication (Cohen's d = -0.22-0.33).

Conclusions:

• Legacy-making interventions show potential for improving parent-child communication, especially father-child dyads.
• Future studies should focus on fathers, emotional expression, and parent-child interactions.
• Providers should support family communication, recognizing potential differential effects on mother-child vs. father-child communication.