Integrative review of school integration support following pediatric cancer

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to understand parents' experiences of school integration support for their child's transition to K-12 schooling during or after cancer treatment.

Methods: This integrative literature review used PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Embase databases and included articles from January 2000 to July 2022 describing parent experiences with support from healthcare providers, school faculty/systems, and school integration programs. This review was guided by an adapted School Re-Entry Model and used constant comparison to identify common themes and guide synthesis. The Johns Hopkins Evidence and Quality Guide was used to appraise article quality and level of evidence.

Results: Thirty-five articles were included in the final review: seventeen qualitative, fourteen quantitative, and four mixed or multi-method designs. Parents reported experiences receiving support from healthcare providers, school faculty/systems, school integration programs, and "other" sources. Parents reported both facilitators and barriers to communication, knowledge, and the process of receiving school integration support.

Conclusions: Parents found neuro/psychologists highly supportive but reported limited support from other healthcare providers. Most parents reported mixed experiences with school faculty and reported many barriers to school system support. Parents reported positive experiences with school integration programs; however, limited programs were available.

Implications for cancer survivors: Future programs and research should focus on addressing identified barriers and facilitators of school integration support. Further work is also needed to understand a wider range of parent experiences during school integration.

Keywords: Cancer survivors; Parents; Return to school; Schools; Systematic review.

Fig. 1

Adapted Parent Experiences of School Integration Support Model. Model definitions: communication, interactions “occurring between individuals or institutions [11];” knowledge, “information residing in an individual or stakeholder [11];” process, logistics of the transition to school and access to services [11], as influenced by the timing of support, actions of involved stakeholders, and available resources; healthcare professionals, trained care providers working with the survivor or family including, but not limited to, oncologists, primary care providers, oncology nurses, and neuro/psychologists. Healthcare professionals may work within the hospital, outpatient, or school setting (i.e., school nurse); school faculty, the individual staff at the school, such as a general education teacher, special education teacher, school principal, tutor, or school counselor; school system, institution where the child receives education; school integration program, an intervention, program, or model of care developed and implemented to help parents and children with the transition to school during or after active cancer treatment. This includes, but is not limited to, school liaison programs and school integration research interventions

Fig. 2

PRISMA flow diagram. Source: Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ 2021;372:n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71