Informed consent for treatment of childhood cancer: factors affecting patient’s decision making

Both the treatment for childhood cancer and the legal requirements for gaining parents ’ consent to treatment have become increasingly complex. The purpose of the exploratory investigation reported here was to identify influential circum-stances surrounding the consent process in the pediatric setting, to describe the relationship of parental anxiety to these factors, and to delineate related practice and research implications. Twenty-eight parents of children entered on one of four protocols for the treatment of newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leuke-mia at the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and the University of California San Francisco were asked to complete two questionnaires within 48 hours after consenting to treatment: the State-Trait Anxiety Index and the Parent Informed Consent Questionnaire. Results of the study confirmed clinical experience that parents are given complex information and asked to make decisions about their child’s life in a highly anxious state. Although participants were generally satisfied with the informed consent process 48 hours after signing a consent form, fur-ther research is needed to document how well parents understand and remem