EMERGE: An Ehealth Model of Care for Paediatric Patients and Families at the End-of-Treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia

Abstract

The purpose of this implementation trial is to develop and evaluate an eHealth end-of-treatment model of care called "Emerge" for paediatric patients treated for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) and their families.

Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are a paediatric patient aged between 2 and 18 years who has been diagnosed with ALL or Lymphoblastic Lymphoma (LLy) and you are within the final 4 months of maintenance treatment or you have completed treatment within the last 6 months at either the Royal Children’s Hospital (Melbourne) or the Monash Children’s Hospital. Parents and caregivers of paediatric patients will also be invited to participate in this study and provide feedback on the Emerge model of care.

Study details All participants who choose to enrol in this study will be asked to complete a series of screening questionnaires before receiving at least 2 online telehealth consultations with a nurse and psychosocial clinician. The screening questionnaires are aimed at identifying information needs and supportive care requirements for patients and their families so that the telehealth sessions can be tailored to best meet each participants needs. Some participants may be offered more than two sessions depending upon their needs, these will be monitored throughout the study to ensure that all participants receive the best possible care. Overall participation in this study will take 12 months. Participants may also attend interviews after their telehealth sessions to outline the components that they found to be helpful or less useful.

It is hoped this research will determine whether it is feasible to deliver an online, personalised model of care to paediatric patients who have been treated for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) and their families. If this study finds that the online model of care is feasible and well received by participants, a larger trial may be conducted where the model of care will be expanded to a greater number of patients.