Use of patient-reported outcome measures in Australian pediatric oncology practice and research

Background Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are commonly used in research, and when applied at the point of care can support systematic identification of treatment impacts and timely intervention.Aim To understand more about PROM use in pediatric oncology in Australia.Method An online survey of Australian pediatric oncology healthcare providers (HCPs) was conducted using purposive and snowball sampling via oncology practice groups.Results Forty-five HCPs completed the survey (57.8% from New South Wales); 38 (83%) reported using PROMs. Among PROM users, 55.3% used them for research and 52.6% to guide clinical care. PROMs were most commonly used by Allied Health (36.8%), followed by Medical (23.7%) and nursing (21.1%) professionals. Administration occurred via paper (47%), electronically (26%), or both (11%). Integration into medical records occurred in 26.3% of cases. Among PROM users, 18.4% felt uncertain about using or responding to PROMs. Among non-users, key barriers were lack of suitable PROMs (85.7%) and insufficient training (42.9%). Common reasons for using PROMs included symptom screening, identifying unmet needs, and improving patient satisfaction.Conclusions PROM use for clinical practice and research purposes was high in this sample. Despite strong perceived benefits by participants, challenges related to accessibility training limited broader implementation.