Pharmaceutical Care to The Pediatric Oncology Patient: Construction of Educational Booklets for a Treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Introduction:  Pediatric patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), the most common childhood cancer, require complex care, including multi-step therapy that may be challenging for the general population to comprehend. In this context, the lack of health literacy was identified as one of the causes of decreased health self-efficacy, with potential negative impacts on the treatment of diseases. Therefore, it is imperative to adopt strategies that can effectively assist patients and their caregivers in enhancing their knowledge about the therapeutic process of ALL.

Objective:  To describe the development and context of use of an educational material aimed at caregivers and pediatric patients diagnosed with ALL, undergoing the ALL IC-BFM 2009 treatment protocol.

Method:  Descriptive study on the preparation of booklets covering details about each of the medications to be administered during the mentioned protocol. The creation of the booklets was conducted by a pharmacist, reviewed by a pediatric oncologist, and further assessed by a second pharmacist. An analysis of textual readability was also conducted using the ALT^© software.

Results:  Seven booklets were created, each corresponding to a phase of the ALL protocol. The booklets exhibited high readability, with text deemed simple, containing an average of 21.5% of complex words.

Conclusion:  It is believed that the material created can support the proper use of medications for children undergoing ALL treatment and can be enhanced or adapted to new scenarios and realities.

Key words:
Health Education; Patient Education Handout; Pediatrics/education; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Professional-Patient Relations