Impact of Parental Stress on Treatment Adherence in Children with Recurrent Medulloblastoma Brain Tumors

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to understand how stress and emotional challenges experienced by parents affect treatment adherence in children with recurrent medulloblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor. The study focuses on parent-child pairs where children are receiving active treatment for their tumor recurrence. Researchers want to find out if parental distress such as depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress is linked to how well children follow their treatment plans over time. The study is observational and will enroll 450 parent-child pairs at four pediatric cancer centers. Parents will complete questionnaires at the start to assess their levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and trauma-related distress. Over the next 12 months, researchers will track treatment adherence using electronic medication caps, clinic attendance records, and parent-reported medication logs. The study will also look at how child clinical factors and family demographics might influence this relationship. Participants will be involved for about one year. During this time, parents will fill out surveys, and childrens treatment adherence will be monitored through various methods. The main measurement is the overall treatment adherence rate for chemotherapy doses. Secondary measures include changes in parental stress scores and how these relate to adherence patterns. This information may help develop supportive programs for parents to improve treatment follow-through in children with this serious condition.

Parental Distress and Treatment Adherence in Pediatric Recurrent Medulloblastoma