Improving the Pediatric Patient Experience During Radiation Therapy-A Children’s Oncology Group Study

Holt DE, Hiniker SM, Kalapurakal JA, Breneman JC, Shiao JC, Boik N, Cooper BT, Dorn PL, Hall MD, Logie N, Lucas JT Jr, MacEwan IJ, Olson AC, Palmer JD, Patel S, Pater LE, Surgener S, Tsang DS, Vogel JH, Wojcik A, Wu CC, Milgrom SA. Improving the Pediatric Patient Experience During Radiation Therapy-A Children’s Oncology Group Study. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2021 Feb 1;109(2):505-514. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2020.09.002. Epub 2020 Sep 12. PMID: 32931864; PMCID: PMC9092316.

Treatment with radiation therapy (RT) can cause anxiety and distress for pediatric patients and their families. Radiation oncology teams have developed strategies to reduce the negative psychological impact. This survey study aimed to characterize these methods. A 37-item questionnaire was sent to all radiation oncology members of the Children’s Oncology Group to explore strategies to improve the pediatric patient experience. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to assess factors associated with use of anesthesia for older children.