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Providing Children and Adolescents Opportunities for Social Interaction as a Standard of Care in Pediatric Oncology
Author(s) -
Christiansen Heather L.,
Bingen Kristin,
Hoag Jennifer A.,
Karst Jeffrey S.,
VelázquezMartin Blanca,
Barakat Lamia P.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
pediatric blood and cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.116
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1545-5017
pISSN - 1545-5009
DOI - 10.1002/pbc.25774
Subject(s) - medicine , grading (engineering) , socialization , social isolation , pediatric oncology , standard of care , pediatric cancer , quality of evidence , meta analysis , cancer , developmental psychology , psychology , psychiatry , pathology , civil engineering , engineering
Experiences with peers constitute an important aspect of socialization, and children and adolescents with cancer may experience reduced social interaction due to treatment. A literature review was conducted to investigate the evidence to support a standard of care evaluating these experiences. Sixty‐four articles were reviewed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria. Moderate quality of evidence suggest that social interaction can be beneficial to increase knowledge, decrease isolation, and improve adjustment and constitute an important, unmet need. The evidence supports a strong recommendation for youth with cancer to be provided opportunities for social interaction following a careful assessment of their unique characteristics and preferences.