ArticlePsycho-oncology2017
Validity, specificity, feasibility and acceptability of a brief pediatric distress thermometer in outpatient clinics.
Article in Psycho-oncology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pain assessment tools in paediatric palliative care: A systematic review of psychometric properties and recommendations for clinical practice.Palliative medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Distress screening and management for adolescents and young adults: 2022 NCI community oncology program landscape assessment.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Greek Version of the Distress Thermometer for Parents of Children with Dysphagia: A Validation Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Mental Health Care for Children with Heart Disease and Their Families: Practical Approaches and Considerations for the Pediatric and Pediatric Cardiology Clinician.Pediatric cardiology · 2025Review
- Navigating the Healthcare System with a Complex Chronic Condition: Multidimensional Roles of Adolescents, Young Adults, and Parents.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Beyond presence of symptoms: Self-reported psychosocial distress interference among outpatient youth with cancer and other life-limiting conditions.Pediatric blood & cancer · 2024Article
- How we approach sharing child-caregiver PRO disagreement.Pediatric blood & cancer · 2024Article
- Application of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network-distress thermometer in pediatric patients during autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and relationship to blood parameters of the stress axis.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2023Article
- Patient-reported outcome measures in children, adolescents, and young adults with palliative care needs-a scoping review.BMC palliative care · 2023Article
- Exploring the Relationship Between Health-Illness Transition Experiences and Distress Among Patients With Pancreatic Cancer.Oncology nursing forum · 2023Article
- Multicenter Study of Utility and Acceptability of Depression and Anxiety Screening in Adolescents and Young Adults With Childhood-Onset Systemic Lupus.Arthritis care & research · 2023Article
- Checking IN: Development, Acceptability, and Feasibility of a Pediatric Electronic Distress Screener.Clinical practice in pediatric psychology · 2023Article
- Single session therapy in pediatric healthcare: the value of adopting a strengths-based approach for families living with neurological disorders.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2022Article
- Documentation of Psychosocial Distress and Its Antecedents in Children with Rare or Life-Limiting Chronic Conditions.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Symptom screening via screen: Real-time electronic tracking of pediatric patient-reported outcomes.Cancer · 2021Article
- Few guidelines offer recommendations on how to assess and manage anxiety and distress in children with cancer: a content analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2021Review
- Threshold score for the self-report Pediatric Distress Thermometer Rating Scale in childhood cancer patients.Psycho-oncology · 2021Article
- Using formative evaluation to plan for electronic psychosocial screening in pediatric oncology.Psycho-oncology · 2021Article
- The acceptability of screening for suicide risk among youth in outpatient medical settings: Child and parent perspectives.Journal of psychosocial oncology · 2021Article
- Psychological Needs and Services in a Pediatric Multidisciplinary Celiac Disease Clinic.Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivePsychosocial distress is under-recognized in children with cancer and other serious medical illnesses because of a focus on pressing medical concerns.
aimsThis study assessed the validity, inter-rater reliability, sensitivity/specificity, acceptability, and feasibility of administration of a pediatric distress thermometer (DT) designed to screen for the presence of psychosocial distress in youth with serious medical illnesses. MATERIALS &
methodsTwo hundred eighty-one patient-caregiver-provider triads were enrolled from two hospital outpatient clinics. Patients diagnosed with cancer and other life-threatening diseases, caregivers, and providers completed the DT and a DT acceptability rating. Patients and caregivers completed standardized measures of anxiety, depression, pain, and fatigue. Providers completed a measure of disease severity. Data collectors completed a feasibility rating.
resultsThe DT was significantly correlated with both caregiver and patient reports of depression, anxiety, pain, and fatigue, exhibiting concurrent validity. Parent, child, and caregiver report demonstrated significant, moderate inter-rater reliability, with lower concordance between raters in the youngest age group. The DT is a sensitive instrument for screening of psychosocial distress when compared with the selected gold standard (Brief Symptom Inventory 18 depression subscale and the Children's Depression Inventory). The DT is not highly specific but quickly identifies those in need of further psychosocial assessment. DISCUSSION: Screening, using an adapted pediatric DT, is valid, feasible, and acceptable to patients, caregivers, and medical providers across chronic medical illnesses.
conclusionAs patient and caregiver reports are not always concordant, both patient and caregiver report of distress are important for the provider to obtain clinically meaningful information to guide interventions. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.