Description
Children who had previously received or were who were currently receiving cancer treatment, along with their families and/ or carers were invited to a two-hour morning meeting held alongside Candlelighters, a non-profit organisation, who provide support to children with cancer and their families across Yorkshire, England. Eight people attended in total and were reimbursed for their time through the provision of vouchers.The event was held in the Candlelighters building in Leeds, England. This building provides comfortable and (for many children/ young people who received treatment at Leeds children’s hospital), familiar space, away from the hospital environment. Candlelighters staff who helped to facilitate the event, were also known to many of those who came to the event, and so provided a familiar face. The whole meeting took around 2 and half hours.
Following an ice breaker activity, two activities were used to facilitate discussion of the project findings. The first activity was designed to better understand the relative importance to patients of, taking multiple anti-sickness medicines, feeling less sick or nauseous, before, during and in the days after chemotherapy, and the side effects of chemotherapy. Children and their families/ carers were given pretend money and were able to ‘spend their motivations’ i.e. put notes next to that which they felt was most important (if, for example, they felt all were equally important, they could put a note on each)
An activity (“spend your motivations”) with children and their families/carers designed to understand the relative importance of taking multiple anti-sickness medicines, feeling less sick or nauseous, before, during and in the days after chemotherapy, and the side effects of chemotherapy.
The second activity was designed to think about the trade-offs between these factors in practice. Those involved were given hypothetical options, of taking more or less medicines, with a given probability of not feeling or being sick, and a given probability of experiencing a particular side-effect. Knowing this information, they were then given the choice, as to whether, they would take more, or fewer anti-emetics.
An activity (“trade-offs in practice) designed to think about the trade-off of taking more medicines, having better outcomes, but being more likely to experience side-effects.
Finally, based on the outcomes of these activities, a discussion was facilitated about how this type of information would best be presented to patients and their families whilst they were receiving treatment, and ideas about how patients/ families could discuss this information with their clinicians.
| Period | 15 Jun 2024 |
|---|---|
| Degree of Recognition | Regional |