Introduction. Childhood cancer diagnosis not only impacts the physical health but also causes significant psychological distress for both the patient and their family. Recognizing and understanding of distress is crucial, particularly at the initial stages of cancer journey, which will aid in offering timely and appropriate psychosocial interventions. However, there is a dearth of literature on the prevalence and nature of distress among pediatric cancer patients from developing countries. Hence, the present study was conducted in a tertiary cancer center with the aim of assessing the levels of distress experienced by pediatric cancer patients and identifying the associated factors. Method. The data of pediatric patients aged 7 to 18 years, and admitted for cancer treatment from June 2020 to December 2023, were considered for the study. The data included the distress levels of pediatric patients at any point from the diagnosis throughout the cancer trajectory. Distress was screened using the Pediatric Distress Thermometer through face-to-face clinical interviews by trained psychosocial care provider. Descriptive statistics was used to determine the proportion of patients experiencing distress. Chi-square analysis was employed to find the association between distress and socio-demographic and clinical variables, and binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the determinants of distress among the pediatric cancer patients. Results. The distress scores of 450 pediatric cancer patients were collated and analyzed in this study. The majority were boys (63.1%), and 67.1% were pursuing secondary education. Over three-fourth (75.3%) were in the 12–18-year age group. Of all 56.3% were diagnosed with leukemia and 66.7% were aware of their diagnosis. Overall, 32.7% of the pediatric patients reported moderate to severe levels of distress. The level of distress was significantly associated with knowledge of prognosis, sleep disturbances, appetite issues, pain, age and gender. The findings revealed that income, awareness of diagnosis and prognosis, sleep, appetite and pain were the determinants of distress among pediatric cancer patients. Conclusion and Implications. Pediatric cancer patients experience distress at various stages during the course of the cancer journey. The study elucidates several factors that are significantly associated with distress among pediatric cancer patients and underscores that tailored interventions aimed at alleviating distress are needed, as they can contribute to improved quality of life both during the treatment and into survivorship.
Gopalakrishnan et al. (Fri,) studied this question.