Exploring the role of pain on physical activity among youth with acute lymphoblastic leukemia using the biopsychosocial model.

BACKGROUND: Engaging in physical activity (PA) throughout cancer treatment offers many benefits, but may be challenging due to cancer-related pain. Pain research in pediatric cancer has primarily focused on procedural pain, with fewer studies exploring how pain affects PA. The current study qualitatively investigated the impact of pain on PA in youth with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) using a biopsychosocial framework. PROCEDURE: As part of a larger study, caregivers (N = 17) of a child diagnosed with ALL and on treatment for less than 1 year completed a semi-structured interview about perceptions of their child's health behaviors during ALL treatment. This secondary analysis focused specifically on discussions about pain and its impact on PA. We followed Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-step thematic analysis framework to identify themes of pain-related barriers to PA. RESULTS: Key pain-related barriers endorsed by caregivers included: interactions among pain and treatment effects, caregiver distress around seeing their child in pain, and fear of interfering with medical equipment. Despite these barriers, caregivers found creative solutions to adapt activities for their child. Caregivers were reassured by PA advice from their medical team; however, advice varied between teams. CONCLUSION: The relationship between pain and PA during ALL treatment is influenced by an intricate system of biological (e.g., treatment effects), psychological (e.g., parental distress), and social (e.g., communication among families and medical teams) factors. Future directions include identifying evidence-based PA recommendations and exploring family-team communication dynamics. This study also highlights a need to prioritize ALL pain management and involve caregivers in behavioral treatment protocols to improve PA.

Caregiver perceptions of child heath behaviors and weight during treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Changes in health behaviors and weight are common during the early phases of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment, and may negatively impact treatment tolerability. Given that ALL is most prevalent in children, caregivers play an essential role in shaping health behaviors during treatment. This study presents a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with caregivers of youth in the early phases of ALL treatment. PROCEDURE: Caregivers (N = 17, 95% female) of a child (M age = 6.76 years) diagnosed with ALL and on treatment for less than 1 year (M = 8.7 months since diagnosis) completed a semi-structured interview about perceptions of their child's nutrition, physical activity, sedentary time, and weight during ALL treatment. Thematic analysis followed Braun and Clark's six-step framework (2006). Two coders established reliability (alpha = .88) and used a multi-pass coding system to extract themes. RESULTS: Caregivers' concerns around their child's weight during ALL treatment primarily centered around avoiding malnutrition. Weight gain during treatment was less of a concern and often viewed as protective. Caregivers reported encouraging their child to eat palatable, calorie-dense foods to mitigate risk for weight loss. Caregivers also expressed concern that children were less active and more sedentary due to treatment-related pain. Caregivers discussed health behaviors during treatment as being child-directed, rather than parent- or provider-directed. CONCLUSION: Future interventions may consider strategies to engage in joint parent-child decisions and caregiver education around risks of excessive weight gain during treatment. Interventions should include anticipatory guidance and aim to support parents in developing skills to support their child's health behaviors during treatment.