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Feeling scared or worried self-report in children receiving cancer treatments using the Symptom Screening in Pediatrics Tool (SSPedi)

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Abstract

Introduction

The objectives of this study were to describe reports of bother for feeling scared or worried among children with cancer and pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients, and to identify factors associated with it.

Methods

We included children receiving cancer treatments who were 8–18 years of age. Three patient types were enrolled: inpatients receiving active cancer treatment, outpatients receiving maintenance acute lymphoblastic leukemia chemotherapy, and outpatients in survivorship. Amount of bother due to feeling scared or worried yesterday or today was self-reported using the Symptom Screening in Pediatrics Tool (SSPedi) on a 0–4 scale. Risk factors were evaluated using logistic regression.

Results

Among the 502 children included, 225 (45.0%) reported any degree of bother (score ≥ 1) and 29 (5.8%) reported severe bother (score ≥ 3) for feeling scared or worried. In multiple regression evaluating any bother, boys were less likely to be bothered (odds ratio (OR) 0.60, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.41–0.87) and inpatients receiving active cancer treatment were more likely to be bothered compared to outpatients in survivorship (OR 3.58, 95% CI 2.00–6.52). The only factor associated with being severely bothered by feeling scared or worried was clinic visit or admission due to fever (OR 4.57, 95% CI 1.24–13.60).

Discussion

We found 45% of children receiving cancer treatments reported being bothered by feeling scared or worried. Girls and inpatients receiving active treatment experienced more bother of any degree, while visiting the hospital due to fever was associated with being severely bothered. Future work should identify interventions to prevent or alleviate this symptom.

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Funding

This study was funded by The Pedal for Hope Impact Grant of the Canadian Cancer Society (grant # 702295).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program in Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children, Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 0A4, Canada

    Shannon Hyslop, Deborah Tomlinson, L. Lee Dupuis & Lillian Sung

  2. Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Stanford University Cancer Clinical Trials Office, 800 Welch Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA

    Christina Baggott

  3. Division of Hematology/Oncology/BMT, Department of Pediatrics, BC Children’s Hospital, 4480 Oak Street Room B315, Vancouver, V6H 3V4, Canada

    David Dix

  4. Haematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, London Health Sciences Centre, 800 Commissioners Road East, London, Ontario, N6A 5W9, Canada

    Paul Gibson

  5. Division of Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 8L1, Canada

    Donna L. Johnston

  6. Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, 282 Washington Street, Hartford, CT, 06106, USA

    Andrea D. Orsey

  7. Division of Haematology/Oncology, McMaster Children’s Hospital, Health Sciences Centre, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1, Canada

    Carol Portwine

  8. Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, IWK Health Centre, 5850/5980 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3K 6R8, Canada

    Vicky Price

  9. Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/BMT, CancerCare Manitoba, Research Institute in Oncology and Hematology, Departments of Pediatrics & Child Health and Biochemistry & Medical Genetics, University of Manitoba, 675 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3E 0V9, Canada

    Magimairajan Vanan

  10. Ontario Parents Advocating for Children with Cancer (OPACC), 99 Citation Drive, Toronto, Ontario, M2K 1S9, Canada

    Susan Kuczynski

  11. Department of Psychology, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X8, Canada

    Brenda Spiegler

  12. Department of Medicine, Toronto General Hospital, 200 Elizabeth Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2C4, Canada

    George A. Tomlinson

  13. Department of Pharmacy, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X8, Canada

    L. Lee Dupuis

  14. Division of Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X8, Canada

    Lillian Sung

Authors
  1. Shannon Hyslop
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  2. Deborah Tomlinson
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  4. David Dix
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  5. Paul Gibson
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  7. Andrea D. Orsey
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  8. Carol Portwine
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  9. Vicky Price
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  10. Magimairajan Vanan
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  12. Brenda Spiegler
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  13. George A. Tomlinson
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  14. L. Lee Dupuis
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  15. Lillian Sung
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lillian Sung.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Research Ethics Board at each participating site and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Hyslop, S., Tomlinson, D., Baggott, C. et al. Feeling scared or worried self-report in children receiving cancer treatments using the Symptom Screening in Pediatrics Tool (SSPedi). Support Care Cancer 29, 3137–3144 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05818-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05818-x

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