Person-centred information to parents in paediatric oncology (the PIFBO study): A study protocol of an ongoing RCT

BACKGROUND: Parents of children with cancer experience a demanding situation and often suffer from psychological problems such as stress. Trying to coping with the complex body of information about their child’s disease is one factor that contributes to this stress. The aim of this study is to evaluate an intervention for person-centred information to parents of children with cancer that consists of four sessions with children’s nurses trained in the intervention method. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a multi-centre RCT with two parallel arms and a 1:1 allocation ratio. The primary outcome is illness-related parental stress. Secondary outcomes are post-traumatic stress symptoms, anxiety, depression, satisfaction with information, expected and received knowledge, and experiences with health care providers. A process evaluation is performed to describe experiences and contextual factors. Data are collected using web questionnaires or paper forms according to the parents’ preference, audio recording of the intervention sessions, and qualitative interviews with parents and the intervention nurses. DISCUSSION: Few studies have evaluated information interventions for parents of children with cancer using large multi-centre RCTs. This intervention is designed to be performed by regular staff children’s nurses, which will facilitate implementation if the intervention proves to be effective. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical trials NCT02332226 (December 11, 2014).