Available online 2 March 2024, 151616

Author links open overlay panel, ABSTRACTObjectives

Home-based pediatric cancer care requires addressing both physical and psychosocial care needs for children and their parents Currently, there is a notable gap in intervention programs that evaluate technology-based psychosocial empowerment for children and parents in home-based pediatric cancer care. The study protocol was to assess the efficiency of a technology-based psychosocial empowerment intervention for home-based care for children with cancer and their parents.

Methods

This study was planned as a single-blinded parallel-group randomized controlled experimental design. The study was intended to include 64 children and parents in the research sample. The HomeCare-Family EmPow is a technology-based intervention based on the Psychological Empowerment Theory. This 4-week program, delivered via the website, consists of four modules for parents and two for children. The descriptive form, Self-Efficacy Scale- for children and adolescents with cancer, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Pediatric Cancer Coping Scale will be used in the data collection for children. The descriptive form, Self-Efficacy Scale, Problem-Solving Inventory, and Psychological Resilience Scale will be used for parents. Repeated measures analysis of variance and linear mixed-effects models will be applied for intragroup and intergroup comparisons. Outcome measures will be assessed before randomization, 1 week after the intervention, and 1 month after.

Results

The possible differences between the intervention and control groups will be evaluated after the implementation of the intervention. Our proposed hypotheses will report the findings.

Conclusions

This research may provide a more comprehensive and evidence-based approach to pediatric cancer management at home-based pediatric cancer management by improving children's and parents' self-efficacy and coping by providing feasible, accessible, and innovative support.

Implications for Nursing Practice

The study outcomes are expected to enrich the understanding and management of the psychosocial well-being of children and their parents and empower them to cope with the treatment process more effectively during home-based care.

Section snippetsAims

This study aims to contribute to the empowerment of children and parents affected by cancer during the home-based pediatric care process; promoting emotional awareness and management; enhancing self-efficacy levels, problem-solving skills, and psychological resilience; and facilitating effective coping strategies. The objective of this study is to develop a protocol to evaluate the effectiveness of a technology-based psychosocial empowerment intervention (HomeCare-Family EmPow) for home care of

Hypotheses

H1.1

Children diagnosed with cancer who participate in the technology-based psychosocial empowerment intervention are expected to demonstrate higher levels of self-efficacy.

H1.2

Children diagnosed with cancer who participate in the technology-based psychosocial empowerment intervention are expected to experience lower levels of state-trait anxiety.

H1.3

Children diagnosed with cancer who participate in the technology-based psychosocial empowerment intervention are expected to demonstrate higher levels of

Study Design

The research was planned as a parallel group randomized controlled experimental study. The study is registered with Clinical Trials (NCT05566951). The study protocol was conducted under the guidance of Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT), which was designed as a parallel group single-blind (participant) randomized controlled trial. The participant timeline, including the registration, interventions, and evaluation of the study, is provided in Fig. 1.

Study Sample and Setting

The

Results

The possible differences between the intervention and control groups will be evaluated after the implementation of the intervention. Our proposed hypotheses will report the findings.

Discussion

The increasing global incidence of childhood cancer and the intensive treatment regimen require a more comprehensive care approach that integrates physical and psychosocial support systems, especially during home-based pediatric cancer care.2,42,43 The burden of cancer affects not only a child's physical health, but there is significant evidence indicating it also imposes high levels of psychosocial stress and strain on both children and their parents.14,21 As the psychosocial challenges of

Conclusion

This research may provide a more comprehensive and evidence-based approach to managing pediatric cancer at home by improving children's and parents' self-efficacy and coping skills in-home care by providing feasible, accessible, and innovative support. The results of this study may be a precious step towards pioneering a new standard for home-based care and psychosocial support in pediatric oncology and shed light on the possible contributions of similar technology-based programs to home care

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Hazal Ozdemir Koyu: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. Ebru Kilicarslan: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing – review & editing.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Ethics Approval

Ethical approval for the research was obtained from the University Ethics Committee (Approval No: 2023-679).

Funding

No funding support was received from any institution or person for this study.

Acknowledgments

The intervention study of this protocol was supported by Gazi University Scientific Research Projects (Project Number: TDK-2023-8730). We want to express our gratitude for this.

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