Communicating with families of young people with hard-to-treat cancers: Healthcare professionals' perspectives on challenges, skills, and training

Palliat Support Care. 2024 Jan 24:1-7. doi: 10.1017/S1478951523001992. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTOBJECTIVES: Hard-to-treat childhood cancers are those where standard treatment options do not exist and the prognosis is poor. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) are responsible for communicating with families about prognosis and complex experimental treatments. We aimed to identify HCPs' key challenges and skills required when communicating with families about hard-to-treat cancers and their perceptions of communication-related training.METHODS: We interviewed Australian HCPs who had direct responsibilities in managing children/adolescents with hard-to-treat cancer within the past 24 months. Interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.RESULTS: We interviewed 10 oncologists, 7 nurses, and 3 social workers. HCPs identified several challenges for communication with families including: balancing information provision while maintaining realistic hope; managing their own uncertainty; and nurses and social workers being underutilized during conversations with families, despite widespread preferences for multidisciplinary teamwork. HCPs perceived that making themselves available to families, empowering them to ask questions, and repeating information helped to establish and maintain trusting relationships with families. Half the HCPs reported receiving no formal training for communicating prognosis and treatment options with families of children with hard-to-treat cancer...
Source: Palliative and Supportive Care - Category: Palliative Care Authors: Source Type: research