Hospital-Based Support Groups for Parents of Seriously Unwell Children: An Example from Pediatric Oncology in Australia

While benefits and limitations of support groups have been well described, there are few reports of open-ended hospital-based programs for adults in paediatric settings. This paper discusses challenges for such groups, highlighting experiences from a psycho-education peer-support program for parents of children diagnosed with serious oncology and haematology conditions. Program feedback was collected from participants, facilitators, and nurses via written evaluations and post-group reflections. Despite lower than anticipated parental attendance, findings indicated that open-ended hospital-based groups have specific relevance for families dealing with diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancer, providing a safe forum for support, information provision and knowledge-sharing.