Review of Education Provided to Parents in the

Review of Education Provided to Parents in the Haematology/Oncology Unit, OLCHC M. Mannion, P. Lannon, C. Mc. Call F. Mckenna 16 th October, 2015 HAI conference, Galway

Education of parents • Education is an integral component of the Haem/Onc CNS role • The aim of this poster presentation is to provide a retrospective review of the parent education programmes currently in use in this unit • These are led by the CNS team

Epidemiology • Childhood cancer is rare • Approximately 1 in every 600 children under the age of 15 will develop a cancer NCRI (2014)

Malignant Paediatric Haem/Onc main cancer primary groups in 2014

• The diagnosis of cancer in a child is known to have far-reaching consequences for both the child and the family, including its impact on quality of life for both the child and family • Healthcare providers are increasingly seeking ways to deliver safe quality care to children and their families which minimise the negative impacts of illness and hospitalisation

Objectives • To provide safe home care for children with cancer • Current healthcare delivery has seen an increasing trend towards providing complex healthcare services for children and adolescents with cancer in their home (Frierdich et al, 2003).

Method • Accessing our CNS electronic database we identified all parents who were educated • The data was audited to determine the total number of parents who were educated, the type of education given and the average time spent providing the service

Education tools Passport • 111 page document divided into 28 chapters • Aims to provide general and specific information relating to cancer diagnosis and treatment plan • Designed for multi-centre use/resource for shared care centres

Passport • Parents encouraged to bring on all hospital visits • Includes section on Hickman dressing education and blood sampling education

Cytarabine Booklet • 11 page document • Provides drug information inclusive of side effects • Step by step guide for home administration • Trouble shooting section included

Hickman App • Launched in November 2014 at the National Paediatric Haematology/Oncology Meeting • Aimed at parents and medical staff involved in Hickman line care • Resource for shared care centres • Includes visual and audio demonstration of Hickman dressing, Hickman blood samples and Intravenous Cytarabine administration

Hickman App • Also provides written information regarding all aspects of hickman care • Designed in response to parents needs

Results Between Jan 2012 & Dec 2014, 521 children were referred to the Haem/Onc service • (521) 100% of parents received fundamental education using the passport • (238) 45% of parents learned how to perform Hickman dressing and flushing at home

Results • (141) 27% of parents learned how to take bloods from the Hickman line at home • (74) 14% of parents learned how to administer Intravenous Cytarabine at home • (50) 9. 5% of parents learned to obtain a full blood count using a fingerprick technique at home

Average time spent teaching Hickman dressing & flushing 6. 5 hours Blood yielding 3 hours Fundamental education 5 hours Adminstration of IV Cytarabine 3 hours Fingerprick technique 2 hours

Conclusion • The education programmes we provide aim to meet the individual needs of each child and their family • We are continuously looking at innovative ways to assist our education programmes to enhance our service

Recommendations • A parental survey to audit quality of education provided • Further development or educational apps

References • Aburn, G & Gott, M (2011) Education given to parents of children newly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing. 28(5) pp 300 -305 • Frierdich, S. , Goes, C. & Dadd, G (2003) Community and home care services provided to children with cancer: a report from the Children’s Cancer Group Nursing Committee -Clinical Practice Group. Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing. 20(5) pp 252 -259.

References • Lashlee, M & O’Hanlon Curry, J (2007) Pediatric home chemotherapy: Infusing “quality of life”. Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing. 24(5) pp 294 -298 • National Cancer Registry of Ireland, 2014