[Inpatient psychological management in pediatric oncology: the concept of liaison management]

Abstract

Concepts for counseling and long term support have been the major interest in the psychosocial care of pediatric oncology patients and their families. Similar methods for psychosocial care on the ward are still rare. This paper presents the psychological care of the oncology patients during their stay on the ward, complimentary to the medical treatment. The concept is based on the process of coping with the phases and specific situations (L.P.; B.M.A.; diagnosis; medication ect.) of the cancer therapy. This process contains on the part of the patients and their parents the need for information, active involvement in treatment regimes and relaxation (before, during and after the stressful situation). The concepts of informed consent, adherence and recovery-counseling are related to the coping methods of the patients and their parents. The aims of our concept are to create and utilize diagnostic tests and psychological methods to enable the families to help themselves. To reach this goal, the technique of semantic and pragmatic information is very important because this kind of social communication helps us to make the medical implications of the treatment understandable and suitable for the patients and families.