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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Dec 29.
Published in final edited form as: Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2015 Dec;62(Suppl 5):S805–S817. doi: 10.1002/pbc.25760

TABLE I.

School Reentry Standard Summary of Evidence Table

Standard Evidence summary1 Methodology2 Quality of
evidence3 		Strength of recommendation4
a. In collaboration with
    parents, school-age youth
    diagnosed with cancer
    should receive school
    reentry support that focuses
    on providing information to
    school personnel about the
    patient’s diagnosis,
    treatment, and implications
    for the school environment
    and provides
    recommendations to support
    the child’s school experience
b. Pediatric oncology
    programs should identify a
    team member with the
    requisite knowledge and
    skills who will coordinate
    communication between
    the patient/family, school,
    and the health care team		 School reentry programs and
    services were well-liked
    and appreciated by
    patients, families, and
    educators; increased
    teacher and peer
    knowledge about
    childhood cancer;
    influenced peer and
    educator attitudes toward
    the patient returning to the
    classroom; and required
    significant communication
    and collaboration between
    patients/families, school,
    and the health care team
Existing studies had
    methodological and
    conceptual weaknesses,
    including small sample
    sizes, lack of control
    groups, lack of
    randomized controlled
    trials, and lack of follow-
    up data regarding
    effectiveness and impact
    on patient’s adjustment		 Pre-post test designs,
    qualitative, quantitative,
    meta analyses, and a
    systematic literature
    review. No randomized
    controlled trials.
    Consistent findings
    evident		 Low quality
    given
    consistent
    findings from
    lower level
    evidence
    studies		 Strong recommendation
    given risk-benefit ratio
    (i.e., minimal risk to
    patients, families and
    educators and potential
    benefits of improving the
    child’s teachers’ and
    classmates’ understanding
    of the illness and opinions
    about the child with
    cancer)
1

Based on summary of evidence table for that standard;

2

Types of studies: e.g. RCT, cross-sectional, longitudinal; consensus; systematic review articles;

3

Quality of evidence: High, moderate, low, and very low;

4

Strength of recommendation: Strong or weak (based on GRADE quality criteria).