No abstract

Due to the ongoing activities to introduce the Disease Related Groups into the German health system, the PSAPOH (Psychosocial Working Group of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology) has initiated a multicenter study to evaluate relevant parameters regarding the amount of psychosocial care in children and adolescents suffering from malignant diseases. This study was performed in 26 German hospitals over three months and evaluated the kind of psychosocial interventions, their duration and frequency and, in addition, their quality. The data collected were evaluated according to the diagnosis, the phase of disease when collecting the data, the psychosocial diagnosis and the grade of risk for psychosocial strain (standard strain [S], multidimensional strain [M] and extreme strain [H]). The results showed no significant differences comparing the amount of psychosocial care within the various kinds of hematological-oncological diseases. But, as expected, a significant and statistically proven increase of the frequency and duration of psychosocial treatment was found according to the stage of the disease and the psychosocial strain. The frequency of treatment is increasing up to 70 % comparing groups with standard strain to groups with extreme strain. Summarizing the amount of psychosocial care within the different phases of disease, a calculation of costs will be possible for each patient.