Research Assessment #7

Date:​ December 7, 2017

Subject:​ Pediatric Oncology

MLA citation:

Zwaanswijk, Marieke, et al. “Young Patients', Parents', and Survivors' Communication

Preferences in Paediatric Oncology: Results of Online Focus Groups.” ​BMC Pediatrics​,

vol. 7, no. 1, Sept. 2007, doi:10.1186/1471-2431-7-35.

Assessment:

In an attempt to begin my research and work on my original work, and familiarize myself

with the information necessary for a successful and accurate presentation, I searched for an

article that pertained to my original work topic and hopefully taught my about a pediatric

oncology team and the moving parts within it. However, I had no such luck, and stumbled upon

specific research paper after specific research paper rather than finding a general article about the

roles of each pediatric oncology team member. When I attempted to broaden my search, I once

again came across nothing useful, only names of physicians being promoted by a hospital. As my

mentorship has been approved and my first visit will be scheduling in the upcoming days, I

decided to, instead, gain specific information from her and rather search for something different

that was not as straightforward yet still essential to my work. Thus, I came across the article that

I chose to assess, which is about the methods of communication that pediatric oncology patients,

parents, and survivors find most effective. While it was not exactly what I wanted, it provided

me with crucial information that I will need for the presentation of my project. As I want it to be

easily accessible to and useful for everyone involved in the pediatric oncology world, the
information gleamed from this article will allow me to decide upon the most effective format for

the presentation of my work so that I can effectively reach my target audiences.

The article that I read was titled “Young patients', parents', and survivors' communication

preferences in paediatric oncology: Results of online focus groups,” and reviewed the results of

an online study that asked current and past patients and parents what they felt was most effective

for communication during their time in the hospital. Primarily, this study regarded the exchange

of information and the participation in decision making for the children, as the extent to which

they are allowed to participate varies between institutions and families. The results were overall

consistent among younger children and among parents, and betrayed the values of each group.

All groups “agreed on the importance of several interpersonal and informational aspects of

communication, such as honesty, support, and the need to be fully informed” (Zwaanswijk).

They all also generally preferred collaborative roles in decision making. Differences, however,

were found regarding the presence of a patient during consultations. Young patients generally

preferred guidelines that would provide them with medical information and allow them to

participate in decision making, while parents preferred to be the managers of communication.

These discrepancies cause a slight problem, as health care providers are then tasked with

balancing the conflicting preferences of young patients and their parents. Thus, there is no one

standard solution for how families and patients should be communicated to, as it still continues

to vary based on preferences of each individual.

This brief overarching idea throughout the article made it very clear to me that in order to

effectively present the information that I want to convey, I must organize it in a format that is

simple enough to not cause discrepancies. As is evident through the research that I looked over
in this article, the amount of information that should be revealed to patients varies. While the

information that I hope to present is not as polarizable as diagnoses, I still know that I must be

careful in my format. I must also find a way to appeal to every age group, including young

patients that are only now learning how to read, teenagers who have a reading and

comprehension level way above that of the younger patients, and parents who do their research

and are far more knowledgeable than the former two. Now that I have all of these in mind, I will

apply this information to create a simple yet not overly simplified presentation of my research

that simply presents facts, in such a way that can benefit every party involved in the treatment of

a young patient with cancer.