e18805 Background: Approximately 20% of newly diagnosed cancer patients are between the ages of 20 and 54, and many of these patients are also the primary caregivers of children. Qualitative studies focusing on this demographic indicate that patients who are parents struggle to balance their own care needs with those of their children. Further, a lack of childcare support during cancer treatments can negatively impact compliance and increase existing psychological stress for patients. In the efforts to establish a child-minding program at a major Canadian cancer centre, we carried out an environmental scan to evaluate the current state of childcare support for cancer patients. Methods: Firstly, a literature scan was conducted in order to assess current knowledge about childcare and cancer patients, which included the use of search engines, directed internet searches, a review of oncology conference proceedings and websites of oncology associations. Literature was selected based on pre-determined criteria. Secondly, 12 representatives from major Canadian cancer centres (CCC) completed a questionnaire assessing current childcare strategies at their respective institutions. Finally, a broad scan of the grey literature was conducted by investigating 161 Canadian and American hospitals for on-site childcare services, using lay-accessible searching techniques (hand-searching hospital websites, phone and email correspondences). Results: The literature scan identified seventeen primary articles, which focused largely on exploring the role strain faced by patients who are also parents. A single study explored the instrumental challenges of being a parent with cancer, and formally assessed the childcare needs of these patients. The questionnaire results indicated that only two of the twelve investigated CCCs had established an approach to child-minding for patients. The grey literature scan identified twenty-six on-site, patient-accessible child-minding centres at hospitals in Canada and the US based on pre-determined inclusion criteria. Of these, 76.9% of centres were associated with pediatric hospitals, and 69.2% were located in the United States. Most centres (76.9%) were open for over 30 hours per week, and 88.5% of centres were free of charge to users. Conclusions: These findings generally indicate that a minority of Canadian and American hospitals and cancer centres have formal childcare services in place to support patients who are also parents. As cancer patients are at increased risk for financial toxicity, they may be particularly in need of this kind of instrumental support. This highlights the importance of carrying out a targeted needs assessment in order to fully elucidate the need for patient-accessible childcare services at CCCs.

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Approximately one quarter of cancer patients are parents to young children. One unique challenge faced by this patient group is the di culty of accessing childcare support during medical appointments.Hospital-based childcare options could represent a solution to this problem, but to this point, no comprehensive scans have described existing on-site childcare centres. The purpose of this study is to identify and characterize on-site childcare services available to patients at North American hospitals. This information could inform the development of similar programs for cancer patients. MethodsUsing publicly available information, an environmental scan of the grey literature was conducted to investigate Canadian and American hospitals for the presence of childcare services. A standardized data collection tool was used to extract centre characteristics. ResultsTwenty-six childcare centres were identi ed across 161 hospitals. The majority of the centres were associated with pediatric hospitals (77%) and were located in the United States (69%). Only a single childcare centre was associated with a cancer hospital. All centres accommodated children between the ages of 3 and 8. Most centres were open for over 30 hours per week (77%) and were free of charge to users (89%). Other characteristics, including capacity and sta ng, varied widely. ConclusionsThese results represent an inventory of patient-accessible, on-site childcare services currently available at North American hospitals. Cancer patients who are also parents may especially need this kind of support, as they are at high risk for nancial toxicity.

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Purpose Approximately one quarter of cancer patients are parents to young children. One unique challenge faced by this patient group is the difficulty of accessing childcare support during medical appointments. Hospital-based childcare options could represent a solution to this problem, but to this point, no comprehensive scans have described existing on-site childcare centres. The purpose of this study is to identify and characterize on-site childcare services available to patients at North American hospitals. This information could inform the development of similar programs for cancer patients. Methods Using publicly available information, an environmental scan of the grey literature was conducted to investigate Canadian and American hospitals for the presence of childcare services. A standardized data collection tool was used to extract centre characteristics. Results Twenty-six childcare centres were identified across 161 hospitals. The majority of the centres were associated with pediatric hospitals (77%) and were located in the United States (69%). Only a single childcare centre was associated with a cancer hospital. All centres accommodated children between the ages of 3 and 8. Most centres were open for over 30 hours per week (77%) and were free of charge to users (89%). Other characteristics, including capacity and staffing, varied widely. Conclusions These results represent an inventory of patient-accessible, on-site childcare services currently available at North American hospitals. Cancer patients who are also parents may especially need this kind of support, as they are at high risk for financial toxicity.