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Nigro O, Sironi G, Ferrari A, Tinè G, Infante G, Barretta F, Silva M, Clerici CA, Chiaravalli S, Schiavello E, Biassoni V, Podda M, Meazza C, Spreafico F, Casanova M, Terenziani M, Luksch R, Massimino M. Managing Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Point of View and Fears of Pediatric Cancer Patients’ Families. Children 2022; 9:children9040554. [PMID: 35455598 PMCID: PMC9025749 DOI: 10.3390/children9040554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
(1) Background: When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, changes had to be made to several management aspects at our Pediatric Oncology Unit. We investigated how the families perceived these changes. (2) Methods: Two questionnaires were developed at the Pediatric Oncology Unit of the Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milan in order to explore how the pandemic had affected the experience of patients who had been or were being treated at our hospital, as well as their families. These questionnaires were administered to three groups of individuals. (3) Results: Between July and October 2020, 120 questionnaires were administered to parents of patients. The impact of school closures and the impossibility of attending sports and social activities outside the hospital were regarded as important, and it was reported that 77.5% of parents judged social distancing to have affected their children. Regarding the changes introduced in the management of the ward and outpatient clinic, most parents’ opinions were positive. Differences in the opinions expressed by Groups 2 and 3 were statistically significant on the topics of relationships in the ward and staff workload. The aspect most negatively affected by the pandemic was the support that patients’ parents were able to give each other. Regardless of whether patients were treated before the pandemic or after the first lockdown, all parents indicated strong degrees of satisfaction with the care received and the organizational arrangements. (4) Conclusions: The results of our study point us in the right direction to further improve our daily work and better respond to the needs of our patients and their families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Nigro
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (O.N.); (G.S.); (A.F.); (M.S.); (S.C.); (E.S.); (V.B.); (M.P.); (C.M.); (F.S.); (M.C.); (M.T.); (R.L.)
| | - Giovanna Sironi
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (O.N.); (G.S.); (A.F.); (M.S.); (S.C.); (E.S.); (V.B.); (M.P.); (C.M.); (F.S.); (M.C.); (M.T.); (R.L.)
| | - Andrea Ferrari
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (O.N.); (G.S.); (A.F.); (M.S.); (S.C.); (E.S.); (V.B.); (M.P.); (C.M.); (F.S.); (M.C.); (M.T.); (R.L.)
| | - Gabriele Tinè
- Clinical Epidemiology and Trial Organization Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (G.T.); (G.I.); (F.B.)
| | - Gabriele Infante
- Clinical Epidemiology and Trial Organization Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (G.T.); (G.I.); (F.B.)
| | - Francesco Barretta
- Clinical Epidemiology and Trial Organization Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (G.T.); (G.I.); (F.B.)
| | - Matteo Silva
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (O.N.); (G.S.); (A.F.); (M.S.); (S.C.); (E.S.); (V.B.); (M.P.); (C.M.); (F.S.); (M.C.); (M.T.); (R.L.)
| | - Carlo Alfredo Clerici
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, 20100 Milan, Italy;
- SSD Clinical Psychology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Stefano Chiaravalli
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (O.N.); (G.S.); (A.F.); (M.S.); (S.C.); (E.S.); (V.B.); (M.P.); (C.M.); (F.S.); (M.C.); (M.T.); (R.L.)
| | - Elisabetta Schiavello
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (O.N.); (G.S.); (A.F.); (M.S.); (S.C.); (E.S.); (V.B.); (M.P.); (C.M.); (F.S.); (M.C.); (M.T.); (R.L.)
| | - Veronica Biassoni
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (O.N.); (G.S.); (A.F.); (M.S.); (S.C.); (E.S.); (V.B.); (M.P.); (C.M.); (F.S.); (M.C.); (M.T.); (R.L.)
| | - Marta Podda
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (O.N.); (G.S.); (A.F.); (M.S.); (S.C.); (E.S.); (V.B.); (M.P.); (C.M.); (F.S.); (M.C.); (M.T.); (R.L.)
| | - Cristina Meazza
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (O.N.); (G.S.); (A.F.); (M.S.); (S.C.); (E.S.); (V.B.); (M.P.); (C.M.); (F.S.); (M.C.); (M.T.); (R.L.)
| | - Filippo Spreafico
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (O.N.); (G.S.); (A.F.); (M.S.); (S.C.); (E.S.); (V.B.); (M.P.); (C.M.); (F.S.); (M.C.); (M.T.); (R.L.)
| | - Michela Casanova
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (O.N.); (G.S.); (A.F.); (M.S.); (S.C.); (E.S.); (V.B.); (M.P.); (C.M.); (F.S.); (M.C.); (M.T.); (R.L.)
| | - Monica Terenziani
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (O.N.); (G.S.); (A.F.); (M.S.); (S.C.); (E.S.); (V.B.); (M.P.); (C.M.); (F.S.); (M.C.); (M.T.); (R.L.)
| | - Roberto Luksch
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (O.N.); (G.S.); (A.F.); (M.S.); (S.C.); (E.S.); (V.B.); (M.P.); (C.M.); (F.S.); (M.C.); (M.T.); (R.L.)
| | - Maura Massimino
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy; (O.N.); (G.S.); (A.F.); (M.S.); (S.C.); (E.S.); (V.B.); (M.P.); (C.M.); (F.S.); (M.C.); (M.T.); (R.L.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-022-390-2588
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Battisti A, Lazzaro G, Varuzza C, Vicari S, Menghini D. Distance learning during COVID-19 lockdown: Impact on adolescents with specific learning disorders and their parents. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:995484. [PMID: 36339862 PMCID: PMC9627200 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.995484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The transition of teaching from in-person to Distance Learning (DL) due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to negative effects on students' psychological wellbeing and academic achievement. The worst consequences have been experienced by students with so-called special educational needs, as well as by their parents. However, very little emphasis has been placed on the effects of DL in students with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD). The present work aimed to evaluate the effects of DL during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italian students with SLD and in their parents. METHODS An online survey was administered to 92 students with SLD and their parents after the COVID-19 lockdown. The survey consisted of four sections: participants' demographic information; perceived stress related to general aspects (i.e., social and family determinants) as well as specific aspects related to DL; attitudes and feelings toward DL; and academic grades before and after DL. RESULTS Students with SLD perceived stress mainly from social isolation/distancing and DL (p always ≤ 0.0001), especially from online classes and oral exams (p always ≤ 0.0001). Students who did not benefit from appropriate accommodations (i.e., individualized teaching and learning methods) during DL perceived 3 times more DL-related stress than those who used them as in-person learning (OR = 3.00, CI 95%: 1.24-7.28, p = 0.015). Girls perceived more stress from online lessons (OR = 0.40, CI 95%: 0.16-0.96, p = 0.04) and use of devices (OR = 0.33, CI 95%: 0.14-0.80, p = 0.015) than boys. Negative feelings (less motivation, reduced ability to understand lessons, interact, and stay focused) and positive feelings (less anxiety and more self-confidence with its own rate of learning) toward DL emerged. Higher academic grades also was observed after DL (p ≤ 0.0001). Lastly, strong and positive correlations emerged between students' and parents' perceived stress during DL (p always < 0.001). IMPLICATIONS The present study prompts special considerations for students with special educational needs not only when providing conventional instruction, but especially when it is necessary to suddenly modify teaching approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Battisti
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.,Department of Human Science, LUMSA University, Rome, Italy
| | - Giulia Lazzaro
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Cristiana Varuzza
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Vicari
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.,Department of Life Science and Public Health, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy
| | - Deny Menghini
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
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