Coping and Post Traumatic Distress in Children and Adolescents During Cancer Follow-up Care

Meyer Children's Hospital IRCCS

Status: Completed

Conditions: Pediatric Cancer; Follow-up Care

Treatments: Other: Follow-up patients

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04908020

FOLLOWUP_PTSD

Details and patient eligibility

About

To explore the presence of post traumatic disorder and its association with coping strategies in children and adolescents during cancer follow-up care.

Hypothesis: the investigators expect a reduction of post traumatic symptoms according to adequate coping strategies (eg. approach coping styles).

Full description

Oncological disease in childhood or adolescence can represent a highly traumatic experience, considering its physical, psychological and social consequences in the short and long term. The literature has investigated this population both in the acute phase of the disease and at the end of the therapies to explore the potentially traumatic effects of this experience. While some studies support the non-incidence of post-traumatic symptoms related to the disease and underline a post-traumatic growth, other studies confirm a high risk of developing post-traumatic symptoms. This risk increases according to specific demographic (eg. age of diagnosis) and clinical (eg. type of disease, of treatments, etc.) characteristics. The literature also points out that these consequences can be mediated by some factors, including coping strategies, that is the way patients manage stress.

The study aims: to investigate the presence of post-traumatic symptoms in patients out of therapy and in follow-up care; to explore the possible association between this post-traumatic symptomatology and the coping strategies used by the patients; to focus the possible correlation between post traumatic symptoms, coping and the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients.

Enrollment: 50 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 9 to 17 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients in cancer follow-up care since less than 3 years
• Scheduled to follow-up appointement
• Italian speaking
• Patients' and parents' consent

Exclusion criteria

• Cognitive and/or developmental impairment

Trial design

50 participants in 1 patient group

Follow up

Description:

The group is made up by children and adolescents, aged from 9 to 17, who received a cancer diagnosis, who completed oncological treatment and who are included in a clinical follow-up program since less than 3 years. Furthermore, the study involves one parent for each patient to collect demographics and clinical data.

Treatment:

Other: Follow-up patients