Barriers and Facilitators to Participating in Pediatric Oncology Rehabilitation: Childhood Cancer Survivor and Caregiver Perspectives.
Hannah E Rice, Ashley J Housten, Allison A King and 2 others
PMID 41371566WHAT IT FOUND
Childhood cancer survivors and caregivers identified barriers to rehabilitation participation, including inconsistent providers, lack of oncology-specific knowledge in community therapists, and insurance gaps.
Facilitators included building trust through consistent care, flexible scheduling for treatment side effects, and clear discharge planning.
Key findings
01Consistent care from the same providers reduced anxiety and promoted trust, while unpredictable schedules and new providers created distress.
02Community-based therapists often lacked specific oncology knowledge, leading to recommendations that contradicted the medical team or failed to address unique needs like fatigue.
03Financial and logistical barriers, such as insurance coverage lapses requiring re-evaluation, time away from school, and transportation costs, significantly hindered access to care.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted at only two academic medical centers, so findings may not apply to other settings. Caregiver perspectives were overrepresented (33 caregivers vs 13 survivors), which may skew findings toward adult concerns rather than adolescent/young adult experiences. The broad sample size limited the ability to identify diagnosis-specific barriers, such as those unique to CNS tumors versus blood cancers.
Declared interests
One author received royalties and consulting fees from UpToDate and Cigna for work unrelated to this paper.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as evidence that specific interventions improve physical outcomes. This study reports patient and caregiver perspectives on barriers and facilitators to access and engagement, not the efficacy of any rehabilitation technique.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →