The Family Talk Intervention in Pediatric Oncology

Even though most children with cancer now survive the ill child has to go through painful treatments which include suffering and uncertainty for all family members. The overall aim is to evaluate a modified version of the Family Talk Intervention (FTI) among families affected by childhood cancer. The goals of FTI are to increase family communication, the family members' resilience, knowledge about the illness, and thereby reduce the family members' long-term psychosocial well-being. Specific aims are to assess the feasibility (Aim 1) and the possible effects of the FTI (Aim 2). Two to three months after diagnosis families at one of six pediatric oncology units in Sweden will be recruited to FTI. All families at this unit who have a child (with cancer and/or sibling) in the age of 6 to 19 will be asked to participate. The recruitment will continuing for 9 months. The core elements in the intervention are to support: 1) the families in talking about the illness and related subjects, 2) the parents in understanding the needs of their children and how to support them, and 3) the families in identifying their strengths and how to use them. FTI entails six meetings with two interventionists (with the whole family and with the individual members of the family) at 1-2 weekly intervals. Questionnaires, interviews and field notes will be used to evaluate the intervention. Time points for data collection: before the intervention starts (baseline), directly after the intervention (follow-up 1) and 6 months after baseline (follow-up 2). Since few intervention studies (if any) of this kind have been carried out in pediatric oncology in Sweden to date, this study fills a knowledge gap. Research has described how cancer affects the whole family, and the importance of an open and honest communication about the illness in order to reduce the psychological suffering. The interventions presented here are likely to improve communication within the family, which may reduce the risk o