ArticlePediatrics2020
Communication in Pediatric Oncology: A Qualitative Study.
Article in Pediatrics, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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
54 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Parental hope in paediatric palliative care: a systematic review of the ethical issues in evidence-based literature.BMC medical ethics · 2026Pooled it
- A Dutch paediatric palliative care guideline: a systematic review and recommendations on advance care planning and shared decision-making.BMC palliative care · 2024Pooled it
- Racial and ethnic disparities in communication study enrollment for young people with cancer: A descriptive analysis of the literature.Patient education and counseling · 2022Pooled it
- Multilevel barriers and facilitators of communication in pediatric oncology: A systematic review.Pediatric blood & cancer · 2022Pooled it
- Talking to migrant children and adolescents with cancer: development of a multimodal skills training in migrant-sensitive communication for paediatric oncologists.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Trial
- Optimistic vs Pessimistic Message Framing in Communicating Prognosis to Parents of Very Preterm Infants: The COPE Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- Interpreter use in Nordic paediatric oncology care - a multicentre cross-sectional study.Acta oncologica (Stockholm, Sweden) · 2026Article
- Hope in Pediatric Palliative Care: A Systematic Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Illness Uncertainty and Coping Strategies Among Families of Children with Cancer in China: A Family-Centered Qualitative Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Development and pre-testing of a family-centered digital intervention to help families know what to EXPECT from pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia therapy.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Integration of Pediatric Palliative Care in Oncology: A Scoping Review.Journal of pediatrics. Clinical practice · 2026Article
- Doctor-child communication and caregivers' willingness to recommend hospital: a secondary analysis using pediatric patient experience data.Translational pediatrics · 2026Article
- Effect of implementing the TAGEET communication model on communication competency among pediatric oncology nurses: a quasi-experimental study.BMC nursing · 2026Article
- Four perspectives for oncological children support: the play-based approach as an integrative framework.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Article
- Healthcare professionals' perspectives on disclosure of diagnosis and related issues in childhood cancer: A mixed methods systematic review.International journal of nursing sciences · 2026Review
- Peds OncoTalk: A Curriculum to Teach Communication Skills to Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellows.Pediatric blood & cancer · 2025Article
- Article
- Parents' Experiences and Clinicians' Perceptions of Managing Cancer Pain in Young Children at Home.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Article
- Communication across language barriers in Nordic paediatric oncology care - A cross-sectional multicentre survey with healthcare personnel.PEC innovation · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWhen children are seriously ill, parents rely on communication with their clinicians. However, in previous research, researchers have not defined how this communication should function in pediatric oncology. We aimed to identify these communication functions from parental perspectives.
methodsSemistructured interviews with 78 parents of children with cancer from 3 academic medical centers at 1 of 3 time points: treatment, survivorship, or bereavement. We analyzed interview transcripts using inductive and deductive coding.
resultsWe identified 8 distinct functions of communication in pediatric oncology. Six of these functions are similar to previous findings from adult oncology: (1) building relationships, (2) exchanging information, (3) enabling family self-management, (4) making decisions, (5) managing uncertainty, and (6) responding to emotions. We also identified 2 functions not previously described in the adult literature: (7) providing validation and (8) supporting hope. Supporting hope manifested as emphasizing the positives, avoiding false hopes, demonstrating the intent to cure, and redirecting toward hope beyond survival. Validation manifested as reinforcing "good parenting" beliefs, empowering parents as partners and advocates, and validating concerns. Although all functions seemed to interact, building relationships appeared to provide a relational context in which all other interpersonal communication occurred.
conclusionsParent interviews provided evidence for 8 distinct communication functions in pediatric oncology. Clinicians can use this framework to better understand and fulfill the communication needs of parents whose children have serious illness. Future work should be focused on measuring whether clinical teams are fulfilling these functions in various settings and developing interventions targeting these functions.
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