International comparison of contributions to psychosocial research on survivors of childhood cancer: past and future considerations

Abstract

Objective: To compare the methods and designs, constructs, publication rate, and location of studies in the past 15 years of pediatric psycho-oncology research, across geographic areas and over time.

Methods: Three recently published reviews on psychological consequences of surviving childhood cancer were reanalyzed according to (1) inclusion of young or older survivors, (2) 5-year periods of publication, (3) country/area (North America, Europe, or Australia), (4) journal type, (5) number of survivors, (6) design of the study, (7) inclusion of a control group, (8) diagnosis, and (9) the use of standardized instruments on different domains.

Results: The comparisons show some descriptive differences depending on the origin of study, as well as difference over time. Over the years an increase in research from Europe/Australia over that from North America is shown. In most studies more constructs are measured during the more recent publication period.

Conclusions: If we are to conduct exemplary work in this area, it is vital to establish national and international organizations for psychologists to parallel those already established for physicians. More attention should be focused on development of interventions for survivors in the future.