Content area
Full text
OBJECTIVE. This cross-sectional, descriptive study evaluated the performance in activities of daily living (ADLs) of youth and young adult survivors of childhood brain tumor (BT) and explored associations with health-related quality of life (HRQoL).
METHOD. Thirty-six participants were examined using the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills to evaluate their quality of ADL task performance and the Medical Outcomes Study 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) to evaluate HRQoL.
RESULTS. Participants had significantly lower performance in ADLs compared with age norms (p < .05), and their functional level was positively associated with the SF-12 Physical (r 2 5 .5) and Mental (r 2 5 .3) scales.
CONCLUSION. Participants had significant limitations in both motor and process skills, which affected their performance in ADLs. Study results emphasize the importance of long-term follow-up and rehabilitation services aimed at improving the functional level and HRQoL of BT survivors.
Demers, C., Gélinas, I., & Carret, A.-S. (2016). Activities of daily living in survivors of childhood brain tumor. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 70, 7001220040. http://dx.doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2016.014993
The term cancer survivor originally designated a family member who lost a loved one to cancer (Leigh, 1996). With growing knowledge about cancer and more successful treatments, a long-term cancer survivor is now defined as a person who lives for 5 yr or more after the diagnosis of cancer (Mols, Vingerhoets, Coebergh, & van de Poll-Franse, 2005). The increased survival rate of approximately 70% of children with brain tumors (BTs) in North America (Canadian Cancer Society [CCS], 2011) is a major medical achievement. However, for many survivors, overcoming cancer is just the first of many hurdles to be surmounted after diagnosis (Turner, Rey-Casserly, Liptak, & Chordas, 2009).
Despite the advances in research and technology, patients with BT and survivors experiencemany negative physical, psychosocial, and neuropsychological late effects (Boman, Hovén, Anclair, Lannering, & Gustafsson, 2009). A late effect is a condition that appears after the acute phase of an earlier condition; it can be caused either directly, by the condition, or indirectly, by the treatment. Late effects often leave patients unnecessarily disabled or, at the very least, able to function only at a suboptimal level (Hewitt, Greenfield, & Stovall, 2005). The percentage of survivors of childhood BT with a medium, high, or severe burden of...