Pediatric Psychosocial Standards of Care in action: Research that bridges the gap from need to implementation

Abstract

Objective: To describe innovative models of psychosocial care delivery that align with published Standards of Psychosocial Care of Children with Cancer and their Families, in efforts to bridge the divide between research and practice. Methods: The Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation, in partnership with the American Psychosocial Oncology Society reviewed 22 letters of intent and 13 full grants and awarded small grants to researchers with high quality projects that aimed to implement any of the published 15 Standards of Care. For three of the highest rated funded research projects, we describe the Standard implemented, the novel research design and implementation strategies, and how the research findings might inform the development, implementation, and dissemination of effective solutions for bridging Standard-to-practice gaps. Results: The first study presented is an innovative eHealth intervention for parents of children with cancer designed to improve family functioning and decrease symptoms of acute distress, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. The second study addresses the acceptability and feasibility of using daily text message assessments of oral chemotherapy adherence in adolescents and young adults with leukemia, and the third creates a blueprint for providing psychosocial services to siblings, including ways to overcome common implementation barriers. Conclusions: Several themes emerged from the studies presented, including (1) attention to barriers to previous attempts at implementation; (2) technology's role in delivering care; (3) the need for stakeholder involvement; and (4) consideration for multi-pronged solutions that address heterogeneity in care settings. Next steps for integrating the Standards of Psychosocial Care into clinical practice are discussed.

Utilization of Psychotherapeutic Interventions by Pediatric Psychosocial Providers

“…It is possible that cancer centers may not have access to the necessary resources (e.g., funding additional staff, or provider trainings) to offer these interventions or prioritize their use. Future implementation and dissemination efforts should be made to translate research to practice, increasing access to these interventions for patients and families [27]. This may include addressing implementation barriers by advocating for increased funding for more psychosocial staff, resources, trainings, and overall prioritization of psychosocial services (e.g., messaging from medical providers/institutions, workflow consistency, care coordination among multidisciplinary teams).…”

A community‐based trial of a psychosocial eHealth intervention for parents of children with cancer

“…This can be accomplished by establishing partnerships between research groups and clinical care teams, leveraging the expertise of both groups to develop and implement studies that explore “real world” feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy. To this end, this manuscript describes a pilot study of eSCCIP, conducted in partnership with a community‐based psychosocial center for individuals impacted by cancer and consistent with recommendations related to supporting parents and caregivers in the Psychosocial Standards for Children with Cancer and Their Families 19 . The primary aim of the study was to establish evidence of eSCCIP feasibility, acceptability, and accessibility in a community setting.…”

Daily text message assessments of 6‐mercaptopurine adherence and its proximal contexts in adolescents and young adults with leukemia: A pilot study

“…7 Several logistical and systems barriers impede regular adherence assessment, including lack of time and competing priorities during the clinical encounter, limited use of validated measures, and poor understanding of the real-world determinants of nonadherence. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13] To ultimately improve uptake of the Adherence Standard and promote understanding of proximal adherence barriers, this study sought to determine the acceptability and feasibility of implementing text-based assessments of daily 6MP adherence in AYA with ALL.…”