title: Childhood cancer in the cinema: how the celluloid mirror reflects psychosocial care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to evaluate the childhood cancer experience in commercially produced, readily available films that include a character with childhood cancer, with a particular focus on psychosocial care.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed 29 films, using quantitative and qualitative content analysis, to identify the medical and psychosocial characteristics of the cinematic childhood cancer experience. We rated psychosocial support on a 5-point scale (0 to 4) based on the availability and efficacy of support characters in the categories of nonprofessional internal (eg, parent), nonprofessional external (eg, friend), professional medical (eg, oncologist), and professional psychosocial (eg, social worker) supports.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Film depicts an unrealistic, bleak picture of childhood cancer, with a 66% mortality rate among the 35 characters evaluated. Psychosocial supports portrayed in film are generally limited to resources already available to families before the cancer diagnosis: mean ratings across films were 2.4 for both nonprofessional, 1.6 for professional medical, and 0.3 for professional psychosocial supports (Kruskal-Wallis χ3=43.1051, P<0.0001). Seven main themes emerged: disruption, social impact, psychological impact, physical toll, struggle/war/fight, coping, and barren landscape. Film generally depicts images of an isolated family courageously battling cancer alone with limited support from a treatment team solely dedicated to medical care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Commercially available films minimize the importance of the psychosocial dimension of care, which can perpetuate stigma around psychosocial needs and interventions. These films can be used to encourage discussion about how to optimize psychosocial care in pediatric oncology so that such care is not abandoned in actual practice as it is, for entertainment purposes, on the screen.
authors.affiliation: *Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT †Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA ‡University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Jovana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pavisic
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chilton
authors.forename: Garry
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.forename: Nerissa L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Soh
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005190:Family; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology; D009040:Motion Pictures; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D010372:Pediatrics; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012944:Social Support; D012945:Social Values; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology