Support during COVID-19 pandemic for pediatric cancer patients and families taking care of these children

During the period September 2020 – September 2021 the Public Association “Life Without Leukemia” is implementing the project "Support during COVID-19 pandemic for pediatric cancer patients and families taking care of these children", carried out within the Project "Eastern Partnership - Solidarity Program against COVID-19", funded by the European Union and implemented by People in Need Moldova.

How did the project idea come out?

Purpose and objectives pursued

Cooperation with the Oncological Institute within Project implementation

Main Project activities

About "Eastern Partnership - Solidarity Program against COVID-19"

About People In Need Moldova

How did the project idea come out?

It was necessary to come with support measures for pediatric cancer patients undergoing treatment immediately following the establishment of the state of emergency due to the spread of COVID-19 infection, when the Oncological Institute, as well as other public institutions, impose necessary restrictive measures to stop the spread of infection. At the same time, there was a need to introduce supportive measures of protection for patients undergoing treatment at home.

At the same time, we found out that children under treatment within the hospital were deprived of access to education, since from the beginning of the pandemic the hospital school operates only in the online format. In addition to that, the restrictions imposed by the pandemic also had a negative impact on the communication that the Association has with its beneficiaries. Under the conditions of limited access to the hospital, the activities which we used to carry out in the hospital, with the involvement of children in the pediatric wards of the Oncological Institute, and relatives who take care of them, had to be stopped. Moreover, the lack of open communication with the parents had a negative impact, they became closed, frustrated, depressed, and this state of mind also affects the psycho-emotional state of children.

Purpose and objectives pursued

Through this Project, we aim to provide the targeted support in order to strengthen the capacities for the increase of protection against COVID-19 for pediatric cancer patients and the families taking care of these children. The affirmation of the maxim that "Prevention is better than cure" is fully applicable in the case of children with cancer.

All recommendations and quality standards related to the treatment and care of pediatric cancer patients require the ensuring of maximum safety and security in medical facilities, compliance with the strict rules imposed for the period of treatment rest at home, as well as with the rules of conduct in society is not less important than the treatment administered as such, and sometimes even more superior. In this respect, the project provides support to increase the protection capacities against COVID-19 for pediatric cancer patients under treatment at the Oncological Institute of the Republic of Moldova.

The results of the Project will be sustainable, since the initiatives introduced under this project will help live in the new "normality", in which much more attention will be paid to individual methods of protection, access to distance education for children with cancer in the hospital, continuous access to psychological support on the phone, access to informative materials.

Cooperation with the Oncological Institute related to Project implementation

The successful implementation of the Project is supported by the Oncological Institute of the Republic of Moldova, as the only hospital institution providing medical services in the field of oncology, where the direct beneficiaries of the project activities are undergoing treatment. Thus, in order to establish reliable collaboration relations between the Association "Life without leukemia" and the Oncological Institute, an Agreement on Project Implementation was signed, containing provisions regarding each party’s rights and obligations during Project implementation, as well as provisions on confidentiality data protection, issues regarding the visibility of activities, term of the agreement, etc. The signing of this document confirms the commitments of both parties on the sustainability of the activities initiated under the Project.

Main Project activities

The activities within the Project, depending on the expected results, are the following:

Outcome 1: Contributing to the prevention of COVID-19 for pediatric cancer patients in the wards of the Oncological Institute:

Providing individual equipment and means of protection against SaRS-CoV-2 for the patients of the pediatric wards of the Oncological Institute, and their caregivers, as well as for the children in remission stage who are at home under maintenance treatment.

Ensure the performance of SARS‐CoV‐2 Coronavirus RNA tests for pediatric cancer patients and their parents, when the test cannot be performed using the NHIC.

Acquisition of braunostats - individual equipment that ensures the patient's compliance with the sanitary-epidemiological requirements in the hospital;

Outcome 2: Facilitating access to distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic for pediatric cancer patients undergoing treatment at the Oncological Institute:

Providing children hospitalized in the pediatric wards of IO with laptops and electronic equipment necessary to participate in online classes during treatment in hospital.

Ensuring the maintenance of electronic equipment.

Outcome 3: Facilitating access for parents of pediatric cancer patients to psychological counseling services during the COVID-19 pandemic and to information materials:

Access through a dedicated telephone line 24 hours / 7 days a week, to psychological counseling services for parents of children with cancer, and children or adolescent patients;

Editing and printing information materials for parents regarding the care of pediatric cancer patients.