Division of Quality of Life and Palliative Care, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States.
Division of Pediatric Palliative Care, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, United States.
Front Public Health. 2023 Mar 7;11:1004263. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1004263. eCollection 2023.
SARS-CoV-2 has led to an unprecedented pandemic where vulnerable populations, such as those with childhood cancer, face increased risk of morbidity and mortality. COVID-19 vaccines are a critical intervention to control the pandemic and ensure patient safety. This study explores global caregiver's perspectives related to COVID-19 immunization in the context of pediatric cancer management.
A mixed methods survey was developed based on consensus questions with iterative feedback from global medical professional and caregiver groups and distributed globally to caregivers of childhood cancer via electronic and paper routes. We present qualitative findings through inductive content analysis of caregiver free-text responses.
A total of 184 participants provided qualitative responses, 29.3% of total survey respondents, with a total of 271 codes applied. Codes focused on themes related to safety and effectiveness ( = 95, 35.1%), logistics ( = 69, 25.5%), statements supporting or opposing vaccination ( = 55, 20.3%), and statements discussing the limited availability of information ( = 31, 11.4%). Within the theme of safety and effectiveness, safety itself was the most commonly used code ( = 66, 24.4% of total segments and 69.5% of safety and effectiveness codes), followed by risks versus benefits ( = 18, 18.9% of safety and effectiveness codes) and efficacy ( = 11, 11.6%).
This study provides insights to guide healthcare professionals and caregiver peers in supporting families during the complex decision-making process for COVID-19 vaccination. These findings highlight the multidimensionality of concerns and considerations of caregivers of children with cancer regarding COVID-19 vaccination and suggest that certain perspectives transcend borders and cultures.
SARS-CoV-2 引发了一场前所未有的大流行，使儿童癌症等弱势群体面临更高的发病率和死亡率风险。COVID-19 疫苗是控制大流行和确保患者安全的重要干预措施。本研究探讨了在儿童癌症管理背景下，全球照护者对 COVID-19 免疫接种的看法。
根据来自全球医学专业人员和照护者群体的共识问题，制定了一项混合方法调查，并通过电子和纸质途径在全球范围内向儿童癌症的照护者分发。我们通过对照护者自由文本回复的归纳内容分析，展示定性研究结果。
共有 184 名参与者提供了定性回复，占总调查回复的 29.3%，共应用了 271 个代码。这些代码集中在与安全性和有效性（=95，35.1%）、后勤（=69，25.5%）、支持或反对接种疫苗的声明（=55，20.3%）以及讨论信息有限可用性的声明（=31，11.4%）相关的主题。在安全性和有效性主题中，安全性本身是最常用的代码（=66，占总片段的 24.4%和安全性和有效性代码的 69.5%），其次是风险与效益（=18，占安全性和有效性代码的 18.9%）和疗效（=11，占 11.6%）。
本研究为医疗保健专业人员和照护者同行提供了见解，以指导他们在 COVID-19 疫苗接种的复杂决策过程中为家庭提供支持。这些发现突出了癌症患儿照护者对 COVID-19 疫苗接种的关注和考虑的多维性，并表明某些观点超越了国界和文化。
