Most parents of children undergoing active cancer treatment at the RCH Children’s Cancer Centre, Melbourne last year reported no change to their child’s care due to COVID-19.
An online survey of more than 100 parents in October-November 2020 found 69% reported no change to their child’s treatment plan and 71% reported no delay in procedures or treatment.
This is despite general COVID-19 restrictions, stresses and impacts on family lives including stay at home orders, school closures and reduced household incomes.
Most children had diagnoses of ALL (44%), brain cancer (18%) or sarcoma (9.5%).
Most parents felt well informed and reported that their children felt safe in the hospital and that they themselves perceived it as safe or even safer than pre-COVID-19.
“Over 90% of parents (92%, n = 76) were confident that COVID-19 had no impact on medical decision-making,” the study said.
The study, published in Paediatric Blood & Cancer, said of the 56 families (67%) whose child was diagnosed before COVID-19, only 9% felt their oncology care was worse due to the pandemic.
“All parents reported an overall positive relationship with their child’s care team, with 93% (n = 76) rating the relationship as good and 7% (n = 6) as satisfactory. Parents’ overall positive perception of their child’s medical care was also reflected in the majority of open-text survey responses.”
Most parents (57%) also reported that oncology support services such as social work, mental health, art/music therapy, and education continued to be accessed.
Young children 8 years and under were more likely to be distressed than children ≥9 years during COVID-19 swabs prior to procedures or due to symptoms such as fever, runny nose or cough.