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Improving Pediatric Oncology Knowledge Through Pharmaceutical Health Education

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Abstract

Pediatric oncology patients present unique challenges for healthcare professionals and caregivers. Strategies to enhance pharmaceutical knowledge among patients and their families are crucial for improving treatment adherence, safety, and outcomes. The objective was to investigate the impact of pharmaceutical health education on caregivers’ ability to understand and administer medications to pediatric patients with cancer. Using a quasi-experimental design, the study implemented Medication Therapy Management services, with pharmacists providing comprehensive education through booklets and personalized consultations on chemotherapy administration, side effect management, and home medication use. The study included 29 patients, with a mean age of 5.7 years and 51.7% female. Initially, 10.3% of caregivers reported significant difficulties in medication administration. After the intervention, no caregivers reported extreme difficulty, while significant improvements in medication administration ease (W = 06.0; p = 0.047) and caregiver knowledge (W = 0.00; p < 0.001). Caregivers also better understood the importance of medication for their children’s treatment (W = 0.0; p = 0.053). The present study highlights the critical role of tailored health education in empowering caregivers in pediatric oncology care. Despite some limitations, this study demonstrated that individualized pharmacist-led interventions can significantly improve outcomes in complex pediatric oncology scenarios.

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Acknowledgements

We express our profound gratitude to all the patients and their families who actively contributed to the success of our project.

Funding

This work received financial support from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), of the federal government of Brazil.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology and Translational Research, Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM), Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp), 03 de Maio St., 100, São Paulo, Vila Clementino, 04044-020 SP, Brazil

    Thuane Sales Gonçalves & Paulo Caleb Júnior de Lima Santos

  2. Faculdade de Farmácia (Fafar), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

    Lídia Freitas Fontes & Mariana Martins Gonzaga do Nascimento

  3. Hospital Do Grupo de Apoio Ao Adolescente E a Criança Com Câncer, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Flávia Borelli Gomes Nascimento

Authors
  1. Thuane Sales Gonçalves
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  2. Lídia Freitas Fontes
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  3. Flávia Borelli Gomes Nascimento
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  4. Mariana Martins Gonzaga do Nascimento
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  5. Paulo Caleb Júnior de Lima Santos
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Contributions

TSG developed the research and drafted the manuscript. LFF and FBGN contributed to the writing of the manuscript and performed the statistical analysis. MMGN and PCJLS reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paulo Caleb Júnior de Lima Santos.

Ethics declarations

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted following the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by Ethics Committee of the Federal University of São Paulo (CAAE 27115319.4.0000.5505) and the Scientific Committee of the Support Group for Children and Adolescents with Cancer Hospital (IOP-008/2021).

Informed Consent Statement

All participating caregivers signed the Informed Consent Form, and patients over 6 years old signed the Informed Assent Form. 

Competing Interest

All other authors declare no relevant conflicts of interest or financial relationships.

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Gonçalves, T.S., Fontes, L.F., Nascimento, F.B.G. et al. Improving Pediatric Oncology Knowledge Through Pharmaceutical Health Education. J Canc Educ (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-025-02584-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-025-02584-4

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