Interdisciplinary care of pediatric oncology patients: A survey of clinicians in Central America and the Caribbean |
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| Authors: | Dylan E. Graetz Yichen Chen Meenakshi Devidas Federico Antillon-Klussmann Ligia Fu Karina Quintero Soad L. Fuentes-Alabi Pascale Y. Gassant Erica C. Kaye Justin N. Baker Carlos Rodriguez Galindo Jennifer W. Mack |
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| Affiliation: | 1. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA;2. Unidad Nacional de Oncología Pediátrica, Francisco Marroquin University School of Medicine, Guatemala City, Guatemala;3. Hospital Escuela de Tegucigalpa, Tegucigalpa, Honduras;4. Children's Hospital Dr Jose Renan Esquivel, Panama City, Panama;5. Hospital Nacional de Niños Benjamin Bloom, Fundación Ayudame a Vivir, El Salvador City, El Salvador;6. Hôpital Saint-Damien, Port-au-Prince, Haiti;7. Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
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| Abstract: | Background Quality cancer care depends on interdisciplinary communication. This study explored the communication practices of interdisciplinary clinicians, the types of healthcare services for which they engage in interdisciplinary collaboration, and the association between interdisciplinary care and perceived quality of care, as well as job satisfaction. Methods We conducted a survey of interdisciplinary clinicians from cancer centers in Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, El Salvador, and Haiti. The survey included 68 items including previously validated tools and novel questions. Results Total 174 interdisciplinary clinicians completed the survey: nurses (n = 60), medical subspecialists (n = 35), oncologists (n = 22), psychosocial providers (n = 20), surgeons (n = 12), pathologists (n = 9), radiologists (n = 9), and radiation oncologists (n = 5). Oncologists reported daily communication with nurses (95%) and other oncologists (91%). While 90% of nurses reported daily communication with other nurses, only 66% reported daily communication with oncologists, and more than 50% of nurses reported never talking to pathologists, radiologists, radiation oncologists, or surgeons. Most clinicians described interdisciplinary establishment of cancer treatment goals and prognosis (84%), patient preferences (81%), and determination of first treatment modality (80%). Clinicians who described more interdisciplinary collaboration had higher job satisfaction (p = .04) and perceived a higher level of overall quality of care (p = .004). Conclusions Clinicians in these limited resource settings describe strong interdisciplinary collaboration contributing to higher job satisfaction and perceived quality of care. However, nurses in these settings reported more limited interdisciplinary communication and care. Additional studies are necessary to further define clinical roles on interdisciplinary care teams and their associations with patient outcomes. |
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| Keywords: | cancer communication global health interdisciplinary care pediatric |
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