COMMUNICATION IN ONCOLOGY: WHAT PARENTS OF PEDIATRIC PATIENTS DON’T TALK ABOUT?

Communication during the treatment process is vital as it relates directly to the treatment outcomes. For patients and their family members, obtaining and possessing reliable information is essential for building successful and strong communication between physician, patient and in cases of paediatric cancer, the official guardians of the child and family members. The purpose of the study is to identify and analyse communication barriers in communication between physicians and parents (guardians), medical staff and parents (guardians) of paediatric cancer patients. Materials and methods. A retrospective cohort research among parents of paediatric cancer patients who took care of their children while receiving programmed chemotherapy was carried out. The information was collected indirectly: the information was provided by respondents remotely and anonymously using Google Forms. Results. The survey involved 106 family members of paediatric cancer patients receiving treatment at Ukrainian medical institutions specializing in the paediatric cancer treatment. 66% (n=70) of the respondents indicated that it was difficult to find contact with physicians; 85% (n=90) of respondents stated that it was difficult to find the contact with nurses and medical staff; 39,2% of the respondents reported the communication lapses with their attending physicians because the latter were busy and had no enough time to communicate. Considering that the overwhelming majority of respondents (79, 3%) noted physicians and medical staff as the most convenient source of reliable information on paediatric cancer, the researchers proposed to create an information platform for parents of paediatric cancer patients in order to provide access to information on the main issues of paediatric cancer. Conclusions. The research has revealed the following challenges: lack of adequate communication between the patients’ parents and physicians and / or medical staff; parents’ feeling unprepared to receive and comprehend information because of emotional trauma; poor communication between parents and physicians and / or medical staff due to the lack of time. A tool to eliminate these communication barriers can be suggested: this implies the creation of a video channel with visual thematic and clearly structured content for parents of paediatric cancer patients.