title: A multisite evaluation of summer camps for children with cancer and their siblings.
abstract: Summer camps for pediatric cancer patients and their families are ubiquitous. However, there is relatively little research, particularly studies including more than one camp, documenting outcomes associated with children's participation in summer camp. The current cross-sectional study used a standardized measure to examine the role of demographic, illness, and camp factors in predicting children's oncology camp-related outcomes. In total, 2,114 children at 19 camps participated. Campers were asked to complete the pediatric camp outcome measure, which assesses camp-specific self-esteem, emotional, physical, and social functioning. Campers reported high levels of emotional, physical, social, and self-esteem functioning. There were differences in functioning based on demographic and illness characteristics, including gender, whether campers/siblings were on or off active cancer treatment, age, and number of prior years attending camp. Results indicated that summer camps can be beneficial for pediatric oncology patients and their siblings, regardless of demographic factors (e.g., gender, treatment status) and camp factors (e.g., whether camp sessions included patients only, siblings only, or both). Future work could advance the oncology summer camp literature by examining other outcomes linked to summer camp attendance, using longitudinal designs, and including comparison groups.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Family and Preventive Medicine , University of Utah , Salt Lake City , UT , USA.|b Huntsman Cancer Institute , Salt Lake City , UT , USA.
authors.forename: Yelena P
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: a Department of Family and Preventive Medicine , University of Utah , Salt Lake City , UT , USA.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McPhail
authors.affiliation: a Department of Family and Preventive Medicine , University of Utah , Salt Lake City , UT , USA.
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mooney
authors.affiliation: c School of Public Health, University of Sydney , Sydney , New South Wales , Australia.|d University of Toronto , Toronto , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martiniuk
authors.affiliation: e Department of Pediatrics , Stanford University School of Medicine , Stanford , CA , USA.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Amylon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002165:Camping; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012649:Self Concept; D035781:Siblings / Q000523:psychology*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: camp; evaluation; pediatric oncology; psychosocial; support program; therapeutic recreation