Attitudes toward the Care of Children with Cancer in Saudi
An Exploratory Survey
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15714819 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ghiath Alahmad (0000-0002-3331-4378, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 693-693 |
| Publication date | 2023-04-06 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Children (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2227-9067 • E-ISSN: 2227-9067 |
| Publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3390/children10040693 |
| PMID | 37189942 |
| OpenAlex | W4362663973 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 28 |
The ethical challenges of pediatric cancer care across Arab countries are not well addressed, despite medical advancements and increased awareness of children's rights. The ethical challenges related to pediatric cancer in Saudi Arabia were investigated by surveying 400 respondents at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam, Saudi Arabia, from four groups: pediatricians, medical students, nurses, and parents of children with cancer. Respondents' characteristics were surveyed across three outcomes: awareness of care, knowledge, and parent consent/child assent, developed from a systematic review and a qualitative analysis. A majority of respondents (89.0%) considered pediatric cancer different from adult cancer. Families considered alternative treatment, according to 64.3% of respondents, while 88.0% emphasized understanding the family's needs and values. Furthermore, 95.8% of respondents believed physicians should offer time for pedagogy, 92.3% viewed parental consent as essential, and 94.5% thought that sufficient discussion about the plan and type of treatment should precede consent. However, child assent showed lower levels of agreement, with only 41.3% and 52.5% agreeing with getting child assent and having a discussion. Finally, 56% agreed that parents might refuse suggested treatment, while only 24.3% agreed that the child could refuse it. In all these ethical considerations, nurses and physicians showed significantly more positive results compared with other groups
Alternative medicine · Cancer · Childhood cancer · Exploratory research · Family medicine · Informed consent · Parental consent · Pediatric cancer · Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of Life · Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare · Ethics in medical practice · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology
| Highly cited | No |
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