ABSTRACT
Abstract This cross-sectional study present effects of pre-consultation lists on caregivers' and children's communicative behavior. Thirty-two dyads caregiver-child took part in this research, divided in three groups concerning the study design: Baseline 1, Intervention phase, and Baseline 2. Children and caregivers were individually interviewed before consultations on pediatric cancer treatment, in order to list doubts, expectations, and estimated issues to the medical visit. These themes were written down on a sheet of paper, attached to the child´s medical record cover, and would then be used as a memo in the following consultation. Results show that pre-consultation lists produced no effects on children's behavior, however the procedure was associated to specific doubts discussed by caregivers regarding dietary recommendations, coping with side effects, child development, biological aspects of cancer, and school activities. This study presents a low cost procedure that may contribute to tailor communication in pediatric settings.
Resumo Este estudo transversal apresenta efeitos de listas de pré-consulta sobre comportamento comunicativo de cuidadores e crianças. Participaram 32 díades cuidador-criança, as quais foram divididas em três grupos de acordo com o delineamento do estudo: Linha de Base 1, Intervenção e Linha de Base 2. Crianças e cuidadores foram entrevistados individualmente antes das consultas em tratamento de câncer infantil para listar dúvidas, expectativas e assuntos estimados à consulta médica. Esses temas foram escritos em uma folha de papel anexada à capa do prontuário da criança, utilizada como lembrete para a consulta que se seguiria. Resultados mostram que as listas de pré-consulta não produziram efeitos no comportamento infantil, porém o procedimento foi associado a dúvidas específicas discutidas pelos cuidadores, relativas às recomendações alimentares, a lidar com efeitos colaterais, ao desenvolvimento da criança, aos aspectos biológicos do câncer e às atividades escolares. Este trabalho apresenta procedimento de baixo custo que pode contribuir para a comunicação sob medida em contextos pediátricos.
Subject(s)
Humans , Child , Adult , Child , Child Health , NeoplasmsABSTRACT
Objectives: The main goal of this paper was to analyze the effect of a pre-consultation interview model on the communicative behavior of physicians, patients and caregivers in the pediatriconcohematology context. Methods: This study was composed by a baseline and an intervention phase. The pre-consultation interview occurred before the consultation with the physician andrevealed caregiver and patients main demands. A sheet with these demands was attached to the patients´ records as a reference for the following consultation. In this study, two pediatriconcohematology doctors were asked to participate, besides eight patients, ages ranging from 4 to 12 years and their caregivers, ages ranging from 22 to 44 years. Altogether there were 31recorded consultations in baseline, without the pre-consultation interview, which was administered to another 30 consultations in intervention phase. Results: The analysis was made througha descriptive evaluation by taking the average of frequencies that a specific behavior category occurred. The results revealed that the childs behavior of offering information to the doctor more than doubled compared to the baseline average. Moreover, the frequency in which the physician gave information to both patient and caregiver also doubled. Conclusions: These data give support to more efficient psychosocial interventions that might decrease behavioral costsassociated to childhood cancer treatment and improve communication during consultation