IN FOCUS
The Journey of a Paediatric Oncology Inpatient Emily Rowlands and Cherise Jensen When research projects are written up and published, the results are usually the key focus. This means that members of the public and other researchers only get to read about the background for the research and the impact of the findings. However, much can be learned from reflecting on the research process itself.
Our project investigated the overall cost of a febrile immunocompromised child’s stay in hospital. These are children at high risk of infection due to primary or secondary immune deficiency. After informed consent, we studied three children, all of whom were cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and who had been admitted to the Great North Children’s Hospital with fever. In order to investigate the overall cost of their stay, we worked as a team of six to observe the journey of each patient in hospital. We watched from a desk outside each patient’s room and recorded information about every staff member involved in their care: this included who they were, what they did for the patient and how much time they spent with them. In addition to the cost of paying staff, this project also aimed to gain an insight into the emotional and financial costs of the stay in hospital to the three children and their families. As MRes and medical students of varying stages, we were amazed at the effort that goes into making the children’s 8
{react} Issue 13 2020
stay in hospital happier, and the variety of activities and support that they are offered. Even our supervisors, paediatric consultants Emma Lim and Marieke Emonts, were surprised at some of the experiences had by their own patients. Account of a typical day for a paediatric oncology inpatient The child wakes up with their parent or carer who has been provided with a bed to stay with them on the ward. From this moment, their day is filled with visits from both healthcare professionals and other staff with many important roles. We observed an actress who entertained the children by reading to them individually. She told stories with great enthusiasm, putting on voices for all the different characters. Later, the older children received a visit from the Youth Support Coordinator, who arranged whatever she could to make their stay in hospital happier, for example, a takeaway meal, a social activity, or a specific DVD to watch.
blogs.ncl.ac.uk/react
