Standards of Psychosocial Care for Parents of Children With Cancer

• Published in: Pediatric blood & cancer Vol. 62; no. S5; pp. S632 - S683
• Main Authors: Kearney, Julia A., Salley, Christina G., Muriel, Anna C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2015
• Subjects: anxiety; Child; childhood cancer; depression; distress; Humans; intervention; mental health; Neoplasms - psychology; parents; Parents - psychology; pediatric oncology; Psychology - standards; psychosocial; Standard of Care - standards; Stress, Psychological; distress; anxiety; pediatric oncology; mental health; psychosocial; childhood cancer; depression; intervention; parents
• ISSN: 1545-5009; 1545-5017
• DOI: 10.1002/pbc.25761

Parents and caregivers of children with cancer are both resilient and deeply affected by the child's cancer. A systematic review of published research since 1995 identified 138 studies of moderate quality indicating that parent distress increases around diagnosis, then returns to normal levels. Post‐traumatic symptoms are common. Distress may be impairing for vulnerable parents and may impact a child's coping and adjustment. Moderate quality evidence and expert consensus informed a strong recommendation for parents and caregivers to receive early and ongoing assessment of their mental health needs with access to appropriate interventions facilitated to optimize parent, child, and family well being. Pediatr Blood Cancer © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.