Psychosocial Oncology

Current Studies

Intervention Development and Evaluation to Reduce Disparities in Quality of Life for Latino Families Impacted by Cancer

The purpose of this study is to develop and validate an innovative culturally relevant intervention that focuses on low-income Latino caregivers of children diagnosed with cancer on decreasing stress and improving quality of life. In addition, conduct a formative evaluation to examine the feasibility and usability of this intervention.

Opioid Prescribing Patterns in Pediatric and Young Adult Cancer Patients

This is a retrospective chart review study using the Cerner Real-World Database to determine how opioid prescription, use, and misuse in the hospital setting are related to pain and sociodemographic factors.

Retrospective analysis of analgesic patterns among pediatric oncology population

This retrospective study is to examine the rates of opioid prescription in children in the oncology setting. The team will compare objective analgesic prescription data from medical records to patient self-report of opioid use in the pediatric cancer population.

Non-invasive Monitoring of Adrenal Suppression in Children Diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of the proposed assessment strategy in monitoring adrenal suppression among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Utilizing salivary cortisol measurements is a non-invasive and reliable method of detecting adrenal suppression and can be especially informative in the childhood ALL population for whom no current standard guidelines exist to diagnose and treat adrenal suppression.

Pain Buddy Treating Pain in Children with Cancer: A 21st Century Innovative Approach

This multisite randomized control trial is aimed to examine the feasibility of the ambulatory monitoring protocol, Pain Buddy. The application will document children’s pain, symptoms, and quality of life while receiving outpatient chemotherapy and evaluate its effectiveness in reducing pain severity. The long-term goal of Pain Buddy is to help doctors, nurses, and parents get the information they need to give children treatments for pain and symptom management that work.

Publications

Children Impacted by Cancer in the Latino Community

The purpose of this study is to conduct community based participatory research (CBPR), which will involve partnering with a community group, Latino Family at CHOC, to understand the barriers to palliative care during cancer treatment.