Do Olivia A, Ohlsen Timothy J D, Shipman Kelly J, Ballard Sheri A, Jenssen Kari M, Baker K Scott, Rosenberg Abby R, Barton Krysta S, Bhatt Neel S
Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Division of Hematology/Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2025 Mar;72(3):e31481. doi: 10.1002/pbc.31481. Epub 2024 Dec 17.
Returning to school after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) can improve quality of life and promote positive adjustment. However, this process may be challenging, and there is a limited understanding of school-aged children and adolescents' perspectives on this process.
We conducted semi-structured interviews over video with pediatric recipients of HCT (10-18 years of age at HCT; 1-7 years post HCT) who were treated at our institution and had returned to in-person school post HCT. We performed a thematic network analysis focused on exploring salient challenges regarding the return-to-school process post HCT and potential areas for improvement.
We interviewed 16 participants (mean age 13.8 years at HCT). Four themes emerged: (i) challenges of returning to school, (ii) keys for a successful return-to-school experience, (iii) overall perceptions of the process, and (iv) recommendations for improvement. HCT recipients described several social/emotional, physical, and academic challenges while returning to school and cited strong sources of support as critical to a successful transition. Recommendations for a better transition process included the following: (a) fostering peer support, (b) establishing social connections, (c) providing mental health support, (d) identifying a go-to point of contact for issues, and (e) maintaining academic support.
Our findings highlight perspectives from school-aged recipients of HCT regarding gaps in support and areas for improvement to facilitate successful return to school after HCT. Additional assistance throughout the process may optimize academic and social reintegration and support recovery after HCT.
异基因造血细胞移植（HCT）后重返校园可改善生活质量并促进积极适应。然而，这一过程可能具有挑战性，而且对于学龄儿童和青少年在此过程中的观点了解有限。
我们通过视频对在我们机构接受治疗且HCT后已重返面授学校的HCT儿科受者（HCT时年龄为10 - 18岁；HCT后1 - 7年）进行了半结构化访谈。我们进行了主题网络分析，重点探索HCT后返校过程中突出的挑战以及潜在的改进领域。
我们采访了16名参与者（HCT时平均年龄13.8岁）。出现了四个主题：（i）返校的挑战，（ii）成功返校经历的关键因素，（iii）对该过程的总体看法，以及（iv）改进建议。HCT受者描述了返校时在社交/情感、身体和学业方面的若干挑战，并指出强大的支持来源对于成功过渡至关重要。更好的过渡过程建议包括以下几点：（a）促进同伴支持，（b）建立社交联系，（c）提供心理健康支持，（d）确定问题的关键联系人，以及（e）维持学业支持。
我们的研究结果突出了HCT学龄受者对于支持差距以及促进HCT后成功返校的改进领域的观点。整个过程中的额外协助可能会优化学业和社会重新融入，并支持HCT后的恢复。
