TY - JOUR
T1 - Limitations of Current Rehabilitation Practices in Pediatric Oncology
T2 - Implications for Improving Comprehensive Clinical Care
AU - Houdeshell, Molly J.
AU - Thomas, Kristin M.
AU - King, Allison A.
AU - L'Hotta, Allison J.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank the members of the Child Health and Education Laboratory for their assistance.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - Objective: To identify the proportion of hospitals/clinics in the United States (US) that have a comprehensive pediatric oncology rehabilitation program and characterize current practices. Design: Cross-sectional survey of rehabilitation providers in the US and internationally. Setting: Electronic or telephone survey. Participants: Rehabilitation or supportive care practitioners employed at a hospital, outpatient clinic, or medical university (N=231). Interventions: Electronic and telephone survey. The full electronic survey contained 39 questions, provided opportunities for open-ended responses, and covered 3 main categories specific to pediatric cancer rehabilitation: service delivery, rehabilitation program practices, and education/training. The short telephone survey included 4 questions from the full survey and was designed to answer the primary study objective. Main Outcome Measures: Proportion of hospitals/clinics with a comprehensive pediatric oncology rehabilitation program. Results: This cohort includes rehabilitation providers from 191 hospitals/clinics, 49 states within the US, and 5 countries outside of the US. Of hospitals/clinics represented from the full and short survey, 145 (76%) do not have an established pediatric oncology rehabilitation program. Nearly half of full survey respondents reported no knowledge of the prospective surveillance model, and 65% reported no education was provided to them regarding pediatric cancer rehabilitation. Qualitative survey responses fell into 3 major themes: variability in approach to rehabilitation service delivery, program gaps, and need for additional educational opportunities. Conclusions: There is evidence of limited comprehensive rehabilitation programming for children with cancer as demonstrated by the lack of programs with coordinated interdisciplinary care, variability in long-term follow-up, and absence of education and training. Research is needed to support the development and implementation of comprehensive pediatric oncology rehabilitation programs.
AB - Objective: To identify the proportion of hospitals/clinics in the United States (US) that have a comprehensive pediatric oncology rehabilitation program and characterize current practices. Design: Cross-sectional survey of rehabilitation providers in the US and internationally. Setting: Electronic or telephone survey. Participants: Rehabilitation or supportive care practitioners employed at a hospital, outpatient clinic, or medical university (N=231). Interventions: Electronic and telephone survey. The full electronic survey contained 39 questions, provided opportunities for open-ended responses, and covered 3 main categories specific to pediatric cancer rehabilitation: service delivery, rehabilitation program practices, and education/training. The short telephone survey included 4 questions from the full survey and was designed to answer the primary study objective. Main Outcome Measures: Proportion of hospitals/clinics with a comprehensive pediatric oncology rehabilitation program. Results: This cohort includes rehabilitation providers from 191 hospitals/clinics, 49 states within the US, and 5 countries outside of the US. Of hospitals/clinics represented from the full and short survey, 145 (76%) do not have an established pediatric oncology rehabilitation program. Nearly half of full survey respondents reported no knowledge of the prospective surveillance model, and 65% reported no education was provided to them regarding pediatric cancer rehabilitation. Qualitative survey responses fell into 3 major themes: variability in approach to rehabilitation service delivery, program gaps, and need for additional educational opportunities. Conclusions: There is evidence of limited comprehensive rehabilitation programming for children with cancer as demonstrated by the lack of programs with coordinated interdisciplinary care, variability in long-term follow-up, and absence of education and training. Research is needed to support the development and implementation of comprehensive pediatric oncology rehabilitation programs.
KW - Cancer survivors
KW - Health services
KW - Pediatrics
KW - Rehabilitation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85115000864&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.apmr.2021.05.021
DO - 10.1016/j.apmr.2021.05.021
M3 - Article
C2 - 34339659
AN - SCOPUS:85115000864
SN - 0003-9993
VL - 102
SP - 2353
EP - 2361
JO - Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
JF - Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
IS - 12
ER -