Psychosocial dimensions of childhood cancer in Latin America

Datum
25. Jan­u­ar 2024 

Online Lec­ture with Nuria Rossell in the Frame­works of EASA Med­ical Anthro­pol­o­gy Sem­i­nar Series 2023–2024

Embark­ing on a trans­for­mave jour­ney from clin­i­cal care as a psy­chol­o­gist for chil­dren with can­cer to delv­ing into med­ical anthro­pol­o­gy and qual­i­ta­tive research has been a pro­found expe­ri­ence for me. In this talk, I’ll share the process of step­ping away from a mas­tered exper­tise and return­ing with a fresh lens that not only enriched my exist­ing knowl­edge but also paved the way for new per­specves and goals. My explo­ration through the lens of med­ical anthro­pol­o­gy revealed the cru­cial role of socio­cul­tur­al aspects embed­ded in the dai­ly expe­ri­ences of clin­i­cal care and par­ent engage­ment. Delv­ing into top­ics like aban­don­ment of treat­ment, par­ent engage­ment, sys­tem­ati­za­tion of care and fol­low-up, sur­vivor­ship, team­work, nurs­ing, and burnout, I’ve found intri­cate con­nec­tions with­in this mul­faceted field. As an exam­ple of my expe­ri­ence merg­ing my clin­i­cal knowl­edge with research insights, I will share with you my thoughts and under­stand­ings about aban­don­ment of treat­ment and paen­ten­gage­ment. The absorb­ing posi­tion of lis­ten­ing to the per­specves of par­ents, fam­i­lies, and health care staff has not only enriched my pro­fes­sion­al life but also con­tributed to per­son­al growth.

Nuria Rossell, PhD is a pedi­atric psy­cho-oncol­o­gist/med­ical anthro­pol­o­gist with long clin­i­cal­ex­pe­ri­ence work­ing with chil­dren with can­cer and their fam­i­lies in El Sal­vador and is now ded­i­cat­ed tore­search the psy­choso­cial dimen­sions of health­care, the com­plex­i­ty of per­specves in the clin­i­calseng, and the chal­lenges these pose to clin­i­cal staff, paents, and fam­i­lies. Deliv­ery of inter­naon­al­work­shops and pre­sen­taons regard­ing muld­is­ci­pli­nary team­work, nurs­ing and burnout, and­a­ban­don­ment of treat­ment are among her acvies.​Her most recent col­lab­o­rave research projects address paents, par­ents, and sur­vivors’ expe­ri­ence­sand engage­ment in the tra­jec­to­ry of can­cer treat­ment in Lan Amer­i­ca. Pub­li­caons from this researchad­dress par­ents’ strate­gies to engage in their child’s can­cer treat­ment, the role of foundaons and peer­groups for child­hood can­cer sur­vivors in the lack of tran­sion process­es to adult long-term follow-up,and the sur­vivors’ unre­solved feel­ings of grief over the loss of peers dur­ing treat­ment. Work­ing with­Fun­dación Nue­stros Hijos, from Chile, Nuria coor­di­nat­ed a unique project help­ing child­hood can­ceror­ga­ni­za­ons in Lan Amer­i­ca to improve their orga­ni­za­on­al and pro­fes­sion­al capa­cies. She is now­in­volved in research with sur­vivors of child­hood can­cer in sev­en Lan Amer­i­can coun­tries to pro­pose­holisc mod­els of care for ado­les­cents and young adults with can­cer in the region. Nuria has been anacve mem­ber of the Inter­naon­al Soci­ety of Pedi­atric Oncol­o­gy (SIOP) Glob­al Health Net­work co-chair­ing the Aban­don­ment of Treat­ment Work­ing Group, and the Psy­choso­cial Aspects Work­ing Group.

Zoom: Link.

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