EMDR in pediatric hospital setting: a case report of an adolescent with cancer.

Introduction: Childhood cancer is rare, but it is the most frequent serious event with a high risk of traumatization for children, adolescents, parents and siblings. EMDR is widely studied as clinical intervention that addressed cancer-related stressors among cancer adult population, but to our knowledge, no researches have been conducted among children and adolescent with cancer. Methods: The purpose of this case study is to describe for the first time the application of the EMDR protocol in a pediatric hospital setting with a 17-years-old Italian adolescent who received a diagnosis of leukemia. He accessed the psychological support service complaining of feelings of anxiety and general discomfort. EMDR protocol started after the diagnosis and ended after the usual eight phases. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used to assess stress disorders symptoms as outcome at the baseline (before the First Phase) and at the end of the EMDR protocol (after the Eight Phase). Results: By using EMDR protocol the patient reported a decrease of emotional activation after a few EMDR sessions. Conclusion: EMDR protocol may be effective for pediatric cancer patients in treating stress disorders symptoms and it can be proposed immediately after diagnosis as a standard care also in pediatric hospital setting.

The Ukrainian children emergency: How the Pediatric Oncology Unit of Turin supports cancer patients and their families who have escaped war.

Due to the war in Ukraine, many children have been killed and those who suffer from severe diseases, such as oncological pathologies, are facing serious challenges as their treatment is interrupted. The objective of this report is to describe one of the first Italian humanitarian expeditions launched to rescue children and their families to provide them with the best possible cancer care. The Pediatric Oncology Unit of Turin has welcomed 60 Ukrainians who are patients, caregivers and siblings. This report underlines the activities that have been implemented to offer this new type of patient the best possible care.

Validation of a Tool to Assess the Multidimensional Needs of the Parents of Children With Cancer.

BACKGROUND: An assessment of the supportive care needs that parents whose children are suffering from cancer is crucial to providing maximum quality care in pediatric oncology. OBJECTIVE: To examine the psychometric properties of the Cancer Patient Needs Questionnaire (CPNQ) and validate the revised version (rCPNQ) of this multidimensional tool that evaluates the needs of parents whose child has cancer. METHODS: The original rCPNQ comprised 45 items and 6 dimensions of need. The original rCPNQ was first translated into Italian and then validated for use by performing an exploratory factor analysis with a subsequent reliability analysis for the entire scale and each factor found. RESULTS: One hundred forty-nine parents completed the Italian version of the rCPNQ, where a preliminary correlation analysis revealed the need for different psychometric item properties in the Italian population, with 22 items being excluded in the final model. The results of an exploratory factor analysis indicated a structure encompassing 4 factors of needs: (1) child-related emotional, (2) functional, (3) healthcare-related, and (4) emotional. The final version showed satisfactory internal consistency (subscales' Cronbach's α all >.80) and stability. CONCLUSION: The Italian version of the rCPNQ is a shorter statistically validated version of the original scale and is a valid measure for professionals to use when assessing parents' supportive care requirements. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The Italian version of rCPNQ can be used with professionals when assessing parents of children with cancer to assess their perceptions of their ill child's emotional, functional, and healthcare needs.