Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare > Volume 14, Number 6 > Pp. 315-321

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RESEARCH Original articles

A pilot study of videotelephone-based support for newly diagnosed paediatric oncology patients and their families

Mark Bensink ^* , Nigel Armfield ^*, Helen Irving , Andrew Hallahan , Deborah Theodoros ^* , Trevor Russell ^* , Adrian Barnett , Paul Scuffham ^** and Richard Wootton ^*

^* Centre for Online Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane; Paediatric Haematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplant Unit, Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane; School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane; School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane; ^** School of Medicine, Griffith University, Logan, Australia

Correspondence: Mark Bensink, Centre for Online Health, Level 3, Foundation Building, Royal Children's Hospital, Herston 4029, Australia (Fax: +61 7 3346 4705; Email: m.bensink{at}coh.uq.edu.au)

As part of the preparation for a randomized controlled trial, we conducted a pilot study to investigate the feasibility of providing videotelephone-based support to a sample of families (n = 8) with a child diagnosed with cancer, returning home for the first time after diagnosis and initial treatment. Seven of these families received support via videotelephone over a three-month period. Twenty videotelephone calls were made totalling 400 minutes (median 21 min, IQR 16–24). All videotelephone calls involved the specialist nurse providing support to mothers (85%) or fathers (15%) and involved communicating directly with the patient in most of the calls (55%). Social workers were involved in three calls (15%). All families expressed satisfaction with services delivered in this way. There were few technical problems. The use of a hybrid approach to providing videotelephony, using the family home computer and Internet connection for video and the home telephone line for full-duplex audio, was less costly than the custom-made device used in past studies.

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