Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36451265›Full record

ArticlePediatric blood & cancer2023

Ethical challenges faced by healthcare workers in pediatric oncology care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.

India R Marks, Jenny O'Neill, Lynn Gillam, Maria C McCarthy

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pediatric blood & cancer, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. The Challenges Experienced by ICU Nurses in Kuwait during the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2024
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

India R MarksClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Jenny O'NeillNursing Research, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Lynn GillamChildren's Bioethics Centre, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Maria C McCarthyClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThis qualitative study examined ethical challenges reported by healthcare professionals (HCPs) working in a large Australian pediatric oncology center during a period of strict COVID-19 restrictions.

methodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 HCPs who provided pediatric cancer care during the pandemic in 2020, during strict lockdown periods. Interviews examined the difficulties they faced, as well as their own ethical evaluation of the impact of COVID-19 policies on oncology care. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis and thematic analysis.

resultsHCPs faced several challenges, primarily originating from hospital restrictions, which led to changes in usual clinical practices. These challenges included delivering care with personal protective equipment (PPE), the impact of a one-parent visitation policy, changes in psychosocial and allied health services, and COVID-19 swabbing policies. Overall, there was consensus from participants that hospital restrictions were justified and, while difficult, HCPs simply had to provide the best care possible given the circumstances. However, participants described decreased capacity to deliver holistic patient care and, in some instances, a tendency to avoid ethical reflection. Lastly, there was a consistent theme of shame and sense of responsibility underlying some participants' anxiety around inadvertently transmitting COVID-19 to immunocompromised patients.

conclusionOur findings show that many staff felt unease at the disruptions in patient care due to COVID-19 restrictions. Some HCPs indicated a degree of moral distress, with a possibility of moral injury among some HCPs. A focus on ethical recovery could assist in preventing any ongoing difficulties among HCPs because of their experiences.

Indexed as

COVID-19NeoplasmsAustraliaChildCommunicable Disease ControlHealth PersonnelHumansPandemicsCOVID-19ethicsmoral distressmoral injuryoncologypediatric

Identifiers

PMID36451265
PMCPMC9878045

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.