Addressing Schooling in Children With Cancer-It's Everybody's Job, So It's Nobody's Job: An Explanatory Mixed-Methods...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Oncology
• Neuroscience
• Education

Background:

• Childhood cancer treatments frequently cause long-term neurocognitive deficits impacting education.
• These deficits present significant challenges for schooling and overall quality of life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To detail caregiver experiences with neurocognitive effects post-treatment.
• To examine the role of healthcare providers in addressing these effects.

Main Methods:

• An explanatory mixed-methods study involving 174 caregivers of children with cancer.
• Data collected via surveys on information received and school resource experiences.
• Clinician interviews explored information delivery and support services.

Main Results:

• Most families (55.9%) sought external information due to inadequate clinical guidance (49.4%).
• Nearly 40% of caregivers found accessing school support services difficult.
• Clinicians primarily focused on physical symptoms, addressing neurocognitive effects only when prompted or for school reentry.

Conclusions:

• Clinician focus on physical symptoms and reactive education contributes to poor family understanding and school reintegration challenges.
• Enhanced clinician education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and new clinical models are needed.
• Improving support for neurocognitive effects is crucial for children treated for cancer.