Caregivers of children with cancer in Canada frequently experience high levels of psychosocial distress – including anxiety, depression, and burnout – that go unrecognized and unaddressed in routine clinical care. This distress is known to diminish quality of life, impair caregiving capacity, and negatively impact both short and long-term outcomes for children and their families. Despite clear evidence that systematic psychosocial screening can identify and help address caregiver distress, such practices remain inconsistent or absent across Canadian pediatric cancer centres.

This collaborative project directly responds to priorities identified in national community-led town halls, where families and professionals called for improved psychosocial care for caregivers. The project will test the feasibility and impact of implementing electronic health record based psychosocial screening for parents and caregivers within four institutions across three provinces (SickKids, CHEO, Alberta Children’s Hospital, and St-Justine). The work is also supported by the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO) and other partners.

This project builds on an ACCESS-supported scoping review of caregiver psychosocial assessment tools, using these findings to design and integrate screening into routine clinical practice. Ultimately, the project will improve clinical capacity to identify and respond to distress in caregivers, enhancing support and outcomes for entire families. It will generate foundational evidence to inform national expansion. Currently, the project team is surveying all Canadian pediatric cancer centres to map existing psychosocial practices and establishing connections at sites across Canada to support wider implementation.

By embedding evidence-based screening into pediatric oncology care, this project represents a critical step toward standardized, family-centered psychosocial support and transforming how caregiver well-being is addressed and contributing to more compassionate, equitable cancer care across Canada.

For more information, please contact ACCESS Secretariat.