Over the past few decades, great progress has been made in the survival rates of childhood cancer. As survival rates have improved, there has been an increased focus on supportive care. Nutrition is a supportive-care modality that has been associated with improved tolerance to chemotherapy, improved survival, increased quality of life, and decreased risk of infection in children undergoing anticancer therapy. Guidelines and assessment criteria have been proposed for the nutrition management of a child with cancer; however, there is no consistent use of criteria among institutions treating children with cancer. This review will present the current evidence and standards of practice incorporating aspects of nutrition, nursing, pharmacology, and psychosocial challenges to consider in the nutrition management of a child with cancer. Recommendations for clinical practice are presented.

This study explored the experiences and needs of nine parents who had received hospital-based bereavement support following the death of their child from cancer, in Western Australia. Six prominent themes emerged from thematic data analysis: personal grief, personal coping, concern for siblings of the deceased child, hospital bereavement support, community supports and unmet needs. Parents identified the need for more supportive contact from hospital staff during the palliative phase and following the child's death, early provision of information on how to practically and emotionally prepare for the death of their child, contact with other bereaved parents, and formal grief support for siblings. Areas for future research include exploration of parents' wish to become involved in activities to help others, bereavement support for siblings, the level of contact with the hospital unit that may be therapeutically beneficial, and parental behaviors associated with accessing both hospital and community-based bereavement supports.

The majority of paediatric oncology units in Australia and New Zealand provide dedicated multidisciplinary bereavement support services. There is variation in services provided, often due to a lack of resources and staffing. Findings indicate a need to further develop bereavement programmes, improve staff education and support, and increase the availability of resources in this area. Future research should explore the needs of bereaved families, as well as the range of services and evaluation methods that could be implemented as the baseline for 'best practice' hospital-based bereavement programmes.

A survey directed to home care providers was conducted by the Children's Cancer Group Nursing Committee--Clinical Practice Group. The purpose of the survey was to (a) assess the treatments, resources, and counseling services provided to children with cancer and (b) query what are their informational needs in servicing this specialized population. The survey found that there are many chemotherapy, biotherapy, and supportive therapies being provided in the home. There are also variations in the experiences of the agencies and home care providers in delivering these services. There were numerous informational needs identified by the agencies. The survey results were discussed with the Clinical Practice Group and several themes were expressed: (a) safety, (b) protocol adherence, (c) making the home into a hospital, and (d) meeting the informational needs of the home care providers.

A Delphi study was undertaken to identify paediatric cancer nursing research priorities at the sole paediatric tertiary referral centre in Western Australia. Thirty one responses were received from the first Delphi round and 22 from the second round. The top 10 priorities identified were different from those identified in prior North American Delphi studies. The top ranked research topic was 'To effective methods of communication in a multi-disciplinary identify health care team'. The findings will provide a research agenda for cancer nursing at the study setting and may stimulate discussion and re-assessment of research priorities in other paediatric cancer settings.