Our expert answers 3 Questions
I am currently investigating the feasibility of a brief behavioral intervention delivered via telehealth to children treated for pediatric cancer and their caregivers. The intervention focuses on improving cognitive compensatory skills, particularly those related to executive functioning challenges.
Available interventions for cognitive compensatory training can be lengthy (10+ sessions) and difficult for families to access in low resource and rural communities with few or no psychologists. These interventions are often broad and non-specific to the patient's and families' unique needs. I am excited to explore an alternative brief (5 session) option that is tailored to client-centered goals and is delivered in a virtual format to eliminate geographical barriers.
This intervention could be utilized by providers in large healthcare settings, such as the University of Michigan, to access patients from across the state that receive specialty care at the University. Although the primary population of interest is pediatric oncology, this intervention also has the potential to help children treated with a variety of medical conditions, such as congenital heart disease and epilepsy.