Language
English
Publication Date
12-1-2024
Journal
Journal of Genetic Counseling
DOI
10.1002/jgc4.1858
PMID
38225886
PMCID
PMC11247135
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
12-1-2025
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Author MSS
Abstract
Access to genomic sequencing (GS) and resulting recommendations have not been well described in pediatric oncology. GS results may provide a cancer predisposition syndrome (CPS) diagnosis that warrants screening and specialist visits beyond cancer treatment, including testing or surveillance for family members. The Texas KidsCanSeq (KCS) Study evaluated implementation of GS in a diverse pediatric oncology population. We conducted semi-structured interviews (n = 20) to explore experiences of KCS patients' families around learning about a CPS diagnosis and following up on recommended care. We used qualitative content analysis to develop themes and subthemes across families' descriptions of their experiences accessing care and to understand which factors presented barriers and/or facilitators. We found participants had difficulty differentiating which follow-up care recommendations were made for their child's current cancer treatment versus the CPS. In families' access to follow-up care for CPS, organizational factors were crucial: travel time and distance were common hardships, while coordination of care to streamline multiple appointments with different providers helped facilitate CPS care. Financial factors also impacted families' access to CPS-related follow-up care: having financial assistance and insurance were facilitators for families, while costs and lack of insurance posed as barriers for patients who lost coverage during transitions from pediatric to adult care, and for adult family members who had no coverage. Factors related to beliefs and perceptions, specifically perceiving the risk as less salient to them and feeling overwhelmed with the patient's cancer care, presented barriers to follow-up care primarily for family members. Regarding social factors, competing life priorities made it difficult for families to access follow-up care, though having community support alleviated these barriers. We suggest interventions to improve coordination of cancer treatment and CPS-related care and adherence to surveillance protocols for families as children age, such as care navigators and integrating longitudinal genetic counseling into hereditary cancer centers.
Keywords
Humans, Female, Male, Child, Neoplasms, Family, Health Services Accessibility, Adult, Texas, Genomics, Adolescent, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, access to care, underrepresented populations, pediatric cancer, genomic research
Published Open-Access
yes
Recommended Citation
Vuocolo, Blake; Gutierrez, Amanda M; Robinson, Jill O; et al., "Families’ Experiences Accessing Care After Genomic Sequencing in the Pediatric Cancer Context: “It’s Just Been a Big Juggle”" (2024). Faculty and Staff Publications. 5148.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/baylor_docs/5148
Included in
Genetic Phenomena Commons, Genetic Processes Commons, Genetic Structures Commons, Medical Genetics Commons, Medical Molecular Biology Commons, Medical Specialties Commons