A randomized control intervention trial to improve social skills and quality of life in pediatric brain tumor survivors

Abstract

Background To determine if a group social skills intervention program improves social com-

Social skills interventions for survivors of pediatric brain tumors: A review and reformulation

“…Papers that reported on improvements in social functioning, but were not explicitly and primarily focused on improving social skills, were excluded. This ultimately led to a final group of nine papers detailing interventions explicitly targeting social skills in youth with brain tumors . Table provides an overview of these studies, including study design, sample size, intervention length, outcome measures, and results.…”

“…One paper employed a randomized controlled design . Other designs included single group pre‐post, control group decided based on distance from the hospital, control group determined based on interest but inability to commit to participation, case study, and evaluation of a clinical service …”

“…All interventions required that participants be off‐therapy at the time of intervention; however, the minimum length of time varied significantly from 3 months to more than 1 year. Additionally, one intervention did allow children who were on low‐dose chemotherapy to participate. For all papers, all tumor types and all treatment histories were acceptable.…”

“…Sample size and participation rates varied widely. With the exception of the case study, sample size ranged from 8 to 91, with the largest requiring multiple sites to achieve this number . Participation rates were not always explicitly discussed; however, they could be calculated and ranged from 33% to 65%.…”

Social adjustment in adolescent survivors of pediatric central nervous system tumors: A report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study

“…48 Recent attempts to improve social adjustment also exist but have been met with small overall effects. 28,49,50 Future research should focus on the potential for a combination of cognitive and social remediation strategies to positively impact social adjustment.…”