Cancer Care Companion

A Pilot Study of Cancer Care Companion, An Electronic Health Record Tool to Improve Information Exchange and Self-Management in Pediatric Cancer

This study invites parents of children with cancer to use an electronic health record (EHR)-based communication tool, called the Cancer Care Companion, and assess the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of the tool.

High-quality communication between clinicians and parents is critical to providing optimal care for pediatric cancer. This study engages parents of children with cancer to use an electronic health record (EHR)-based communication tool, called the Cancer Care Companion, and assess the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of the tool. Parent participants will be given 3 months of access to Cancer Care Companion, after which the participant(s) will complete a semi-structured interview. Participants will also complete a survey of validated measures before and after the intervention.

Eligibility Criteria for Parents:

Parents of children with cancer will be enrolled if they meet the following criteria:

• They are a legal guardian of a child diagnosed with cancer in the prior 4 weeks.
• The child plans to receive or currently receives cancer directed therapy at St. Louis Children's Hospital.
• The parent or legal guardian has access to internet through a computer or smart phone.
• Speaks and reads in English
• The parent or legal guardian agrees to enroll in Epic MyChart to access a proxy portal for their child.

Eligibility Criteria for Clinicians:

• Clinicians with patients who have parents participating may be enrolled. Clinician participants will be employed at SLCH or Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM). The clinicians will include physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurse coordinators from the leukemia/lymphoma, brain tumor, and solid tumor teams in order to represent the breadth of pediatric cancer diagnoses.