Cancer Putting Parenthood to the Test: Evaluation of the Needs and Difficulties Faced by Healthcare Professionals in an Oncology Department

Laurine Zerka, Grégoire Benvegnu, Mathilde Thevenin, Fanny Crozes, Jean-Philippe Raynaud, Rosine Guimbaud and Agnès Suc

Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (SUPEA), Toulouse University Hospital, France
Department of digestive medical oncology, Toulouse University Hospital, France
Toulouse University Hospital, France
Pain Resource Center for Pediatric Palliative Care, Toulouse University Hospital, France

^*Correspondance to: Grégoire BENVEGNU 

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Abstract:

Introduction: Adults suffering from cancer not only face their own anxieties but also parental worries concerning their children’s future, particularly in psychological terms. For healthcare professionals, listening to these worries and supporting these patients can add to professional difficulties, potentially culminating in indirect traumas such as burnouts.
Method: The purpose of this study is to identify the needs and difficulties of oncological healthcare professionals in supporting their patients concerns about parenthood. We have carried out a joint descriptive analysis of semi-structured interviews held with the healthcare professionals from a Gastro-Intestinal Oncology team.
Results: This study sheds light on the difficulties encountered by healthcare professionals in approaching the psychological impact of the disease on their patient’s children with them, and particularly in deciding the most appropriate type of information to provide. The lack of subject knowledge is raised. Theoretical training requirements as well as interprofessional dialogue are
endorsed.
Conclusion: This work is designed as a preliminary study leading to the creation of subject-specific training tools to help oncology healthcare professionals deal with this problem which is unclear and under-estimated at the present time.

Keywords:

Oncology; Parenting; Healthcare professionals; Cancer; Training

Cite the Article:

Zerka L, Benvegnu G, Thevenin M, Crozes F, Raynaud J-P, Guimbaud R, et al. Cancer Putting Parenthood to the Test: Evaluation of the Needs and Difficulties Faced by Healthcare Professionals in an Oncology Department. Clin Oncol. 2021;6:1821..