The Critical Role of Parents in Pediatric Cancer-Related Pain Management: a Review and Call to Action.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Even with optimized medical management, pain remains an inevitable part of pediatric cancer care. The most effective interventions for nonpharmacologic pain management within pediatric psychology include parent skills training. This review specifically explored the role of parents in cancer-related pain management with the goal of defining a set of evidence-based skills that could translate to improved pediatric cancer pain management.


RECENT FINDINGS
Pain is now widely understood to be both a sensory and emotional experience. As a result, within pediatric non-cancer pain management there is increasing application of the biopsychosocial model for pain management, inclusive of evidence-based psychological intervention. This review, specifically focusing on the role of parent training in cancer-related pain management, finds few interventions that systematically included parents. There is a need for continued evidence-based innovation and knowledge dissemination in this area of care. This paper highlights a critical gap in translational science within pediatric cancer pain management, namely, that parents who have a child with cancer are not reliably gaining access to well-established, evidence-based psychological skills training that can help to mitigate pain and pain-related stress. Based on the literature, the authors provide recommendations for generating adaptable, evidence-informed interventions that support and empower parents to help their child with pain management through all phases of cancer treatment.
['Uhl|Kristen|K|', 'Burns|Maureen|M|', 'Hale|Amy|A|', 'Coakley|Rachael|R|']
D000072716:Cancer Pain D002648:Child D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine D006699:Home Care Services D006801:Humans D007297:Inpatients D009369:Neoplasms D059408:Pain Management D010290:Parents D010372:Pediatrics
Parents Cancer-related pain Pediatric cancer pain Parent training Acute pain Biobehavioral CBT Chronic pain Pain coping Pediatric oncology Psychological pain management