Family Factors and Health-related Quality of Life within Six Months of Completion of Childhood Cancer Treatment
Menée aux Etats-Unis par questionnaire auprès de 154 aidants familiaux d'enfants atteints d'un cancer (âge : 0-18 ans) et auprès de 52 patients pédiatriques (âge : 7-18 ans), cette étude analyse l'association entre des facteurs familiaux (fonctionnement familial, qualité de vie et détresse psychique des aidants, etc...) et la qualité de vie des enfants à la fin des traitements anticancéreux
Résumé en anglais
Objective : The transition from active cancer treatment to survivorship represents a period of uncertainty for youth and their families, but factors associated with adaptation during this period are understudied. We evaluated associations among cancer and treatment‐related variables, family factors (family functioning, caregiver health‐related quality of life [HRQL], and caregiver distress), and patient HRQL after treatment completion. We assessed the indirect effects of neurocognitive difficulties on youth HRQL through family factors.
Methods : 154 caregivers (of patients ages 0‐18 years) and 52 youth (ages 7‐18 years) completed questionnaires assessing family factors, neurocognitive difficulties, and HRQL for patients within six months following treatment completion. Electronic health records were reviewed for cancer and treatment‐related information. Bootstrapping analyses assessed whether neurocognitive function had indirect effects on HRQL through family factors.
Results : Family factors were associated with self‐ and caregiver reports of children's HRQL. Controlling for demographic, cancer, and treatment covariates, caregiver reports of their child's neurocognitive difficulties had an indirect effect on their reports of child physical HRQL through family functioning. Caregiver reports of their child's neurocognitive difficulties indirectly related to caregiver reports of child psychosocial HRQL through family functioning and caregiver HRQL. Indirect effects for self‐reported neurocognitive difficulties and HRQL were not supported.
Conclusions : Findings highlight the need for routine psychosocial screening for youth and caregiver reports of family adjustment and HRQL during transition off treatment. Providers are encouraged to offer interventions matched to specific needs for families at risk for poor family functioning to improve patient outcomes as they transition off treatment.
