Integrating transition readiness assessment into clinical practice: Adaptation of the UNC TRXANSITION index into the Cerner electronic medical record.

PURPOSE: To describe the process of developing, and evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of, an EMR-based transition readiness assessment. DESIGN AND METHODS: A Cerner-based version of the UNC TRxANSITION Index was implemented across four pediatric subspecialty clinics: epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease; type 1 diabetes, oncology survivorship. The feasibility was assessed by each's clinic's ability to meet form completion goals and their assessment rate. Acceptability was assessed via family refusal rate, a staff-completed feedback questionnaire, and whether the form was adopted into routine clinical care after completion of the pilot study. RESULTS: All clinics met form completion goals (N = 10/clinic). The assessment rate ranged from 66 to 100% across clinics. No families refused completion of the form. Most staff (70%) reported completing the form in <10 min. Staff reported on challenges experienced and provided recommendations to streamline administration and enhance clinical care. All staff reported the form helped them identify knowledge gaps in their patients. Two clinics continued using the form following completion of the pilot study. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation was most feasible in clinics that were well-staffed and had lengthier patient visits, however, time and staff resources were the biggest challenges to implementation across clinics. Based on staff feedback to improve efficiency and developmentally-tailor assessment, the form will be divided into Beginner Skills and Advanced Skills. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Integrating transition readiness assessment into the EMR has the potential to improve clinical care by facilitating staff's ability to efficiently identify knowledge gaps in their transition-aged patients and intervene.

A pilot study of the preliminary efficacy of Pain Buddy: A novel intervention for the management of children's cancer-related pain.

OBJECTIVES: Cancer-related pain in children is prevalent and undermanaged. Mobile health (mHealth) applications provide a promising avenue to address the gap in pain management in children with cancer. Pain Buddy is a multicomponent mHealth application developed to manage cancer-related pain in children. The goal of this paper is to present preliminary efficacy data of the impact of Pain Buddy on children's pain severity and frequency. METHODS: In a randomized controlled trial over 60 days, children (N = 48) reported daily pain on a tablet while receiving usual care. Those in the intervention group (N = 20) received remote symptom monitoring and skills training for pain management. Children in the attention control group (N = 28) only reported on their pain. RESULTS: Both groups experienced significant reductions in average daily pain over the study period (B = -0.10, z = -3.40, P = 0.001), with no group differences evident (z = -0.83, P = 0.40). However, the intervention group reported significantly fewer instances of moderate to severe pain compared with the control group, t(4125) = 2.67, P = 0.007. In addition, the intervention group reported no instances of moderate to severe pain toward the end of the study period. CONCLUSION: Pain Buddy is an innovative and interactive mHealth application that aims to improve pain and symptom management among children with cancer. The findings from this pilot study suggest that Pain Buddy may aid in the reduction of pain severity in children during cancer treatment.

A Quality Approach to Blinatumomab Delivery in Pediatric Oncology: A Children's Oncology Group Study.

Background: Blinatumomab is a promising immunotherapy agent that has been shown to improve survival outcomes in children diagnosed with relapsed B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Expanded use of blinatumomab in the treatment of childhood cancer is expected; however, clinician perspectives regarding administering this agent in healthcare and home settings have not been explored. Method: Semistructured interviews were conducted with clinicians (N = 13) from pediatric institutions across the United States and Canada. Qualitative data were analyzed using a constant comparative analysis three-stage method. Results: Participants were primarily nurses (92%), female (77%), and had greater than 10 years of pediatric oncology experience. The selective code and overarching theme identified was "A quality approach to blinatumomab delivery in pediatric oncology." Clinicians described detailed processes that were created and implemented to promote a common goal of safe blinatumomab administration across the continuum of care. Clinicians shared how they engaged in planning activities and considered a variety of factors prior to and during blinatumomab administration. Clinicians also expressed a need to reflect and evaluate on previous patient experiences to create new or revise existing processes and workflows. Communication was also central to clinicians' work. Clinicians provided recommendations to assist others with blinatumomab administration and offered suggestions for items that could help with implementing future clinical trials containing similar agents. Discussion: Findings suggest nurses are pivotal to establishing processes which support safe administration of immunotherapies, such as blinatumomab, while also considering patient-specific needs and promoting quality of life.

Delivery of Care for Pediatric Patients Receiving Blinatumomab: A Children's Oncology Group Study.

BACKGROUND: Blinatumomab is an immunotherapy agent used in pediatric oncology for the treatment of B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Administration of blinatumomab, via continuous 28-day infusion cycles, can present multiple decision points and challenges related to patient care. Nurses are at the forefront of coordinating and delivering care for patients receiving blinatumomab. OBJECTIVE: To describe the current state of practice across Children's Oncology Group (COG) member institutions regarding blinatumomab administration in both inpatient and home/outpatient settings. METHODS: Between August and December 2021, a cross-sectional survey was used to determine current institutional practices related to blinatumomab administration. A single targeted respondent who was actively engaged in coordinating blinatumomab administration completed the survey on behalf of each COG institution. RESULTS: Survey participation rate was 78% (150/192). During the first 28-day blinatumomab cycle, 71 institutions (53%) reported patient hospital stays between 73 hours and 7 days; 42 (31%) reported hospital stays ≤72 hours, and only 12 (9%) reported hospitalization for the full 28-day infusion. Small- to medium-size institutions were more likely to report longer hospitalizations (P = .03). Most blinatumomab administration occurred in the outpatient setting, with low rates of unplanned clinic/emergency room visits. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of COG institutions have navigated the complex coordination of care required for children to receive blinatumomab at home. Wide variations in practice were noted across institutions. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This study describes current institutional practices surrounding administration of 28-day blinatumomab infusions in children with leukemia and offers a starting point for institutional benchmarking and standardization of practice.

Unmet Needs, Barriers, and Facilitators for Conducting Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivorship Research in Southern California: A Delphi Survey.

Introduction: An adolescent and young adult cancer (AYAC) patient is an individual who has received a cancer diagnosis between 15 and 39 years of age. They require significant survivorship care due to a combination of practical, physical, and mental health problems, but research in these areas is sparse. This study aimed to identify the unmet needs, barriers, and facilitators for conducting AYAC survivorship research in Southern California (SoCal) from the providers' and researchers' perspectives. Methods: A two-round, electronically administered Delphi survey study was conducted, involving a panel of 12 health care professionals and/or researchers with substantial work experience in AYAC. A 10-point Likert scale was used to evaluate 24 areas of unmet needs in AYAC survivors, 39 barriers, and 25 facilitators. Results: The top unmet needs in AYAC survivorship requiring research were in mental health issues, improving school/occupational performance, neurocognitive disorders, subsequent malignant neoplasms, and reproductive health. The top barriers identified were as follows: (1) institutions are too short-staffed to administer survivorship studies; (2) oncologists do not have the time/resources; and (3) lack of available funding. The top facilitators identified were as follows: (1) development of a mechanism/program to fund AYAC survivorship research studies; (2) in-person or virtual investigator engagement between children's hospitals and adult cancer centers to discuss research studies; and (3) developing personalized survivorship goals with AYAC patients and survivors to facilitate enrollment into survivorship studies. Conclusion: Experts identified the lack of time, manpower, funding, and resources as major barriers in AYAC survivorship research. Enhancing communication and collaboration with different stakeholders may facilitate AYAC survivorship research efforts within the SoCal region.

Southern California Pediatric and Adolescent Cancer Survivorship (SC-PACS): Establishing a Multi-Institutional Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer Survivorship Consortium in Southern California.

Introduction Given their risk for late effects and early mortality, childhood/adolescent cancer survivors (CACSs) should receive longitudinal monitoring and care. The Southern California Pediatric and Adolescent Cancer Survivorship (SC-PACS) consortium was established in February 2017 to combine resources and expertise across seven participating survivorship programs. Its over-arching objective is to address the unique needs of its demographically diverse CACS population through collaborative survivorship research and care initiatives. The first SC-PACS study was an assessment of survivorship needs and evaluation of current services as reported by CACSs and their parents/primary care givers (PPCGs) receiving survivorship care at consortium sites. Methods As an initial investigation, a cross-sectional survey for CACSs and their parents/primary care givers was conducted. The goal was to enroll 10 CACSs and 10 PPCGs from each of the seven institutions (total of 140 participants). The eligibility criteria for CACSs were age ≥13 years at the time of enrollment, >2 years from the end of treatment, sufficient cognitive function to complete the survey, and English or Spanish language proficiency. For CACSs <13 years old, their PPCGs completed the survey. This was a convenience sample using frequencies and proportions to describe participant characteristics and survey responses, which were entered into a Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) database. Results Across the consortium, of the recruitment target of 140 participants (CACSs, n=70; PPCGs, n=70), 127 (90.7%) participants were enrolled. Of the 127 participants enrolled, 65 (51.2%) were CACSs and 62 (48.8%) were PPCGs. The majority of participants were female (51.2%), were Hispanic (62.2%), spoke English as the primary language at home (57.5%), and were diagnosed between one to four years of age (45.7%). Information considered most important by both CACSs and PPCGs was related to cancer diagnosis (90.8%) and future risks as a result of cancer treatment received (98.0%). Overall, 78% of CACSs and PPCGs found the survivorship information (treatment summary) useful, and 83% felt that they received the right amount of information about their cancer. Conclusion Our aim was to obtain baseline data that would characterize our CACS population, inform consortium priorities, and establish a collaborative research platform. The ultimate goal of the consortium is to develop a comprehensive survivorship care approach that addresses the most important needs of cancer survivors in our catchment area and promotes best practice interventions. Future plans are to expand the needs assessment survey to obtain a wider representation of the survivor population at SC-PACS institutions, helping create strategies to improve cancer-specific education, delivery of treatment summary, and access to community resources for this demographically and socioeconomically diverse population.