Willingness to Participate in a Parental Training Intervention to Reduce Neurocognitive Late Effects Among Latino Parents of Childhood Cancer Survivors

The purpose of the study was to examine correlates of Spanish-speaking Latino parents' interest for participation in an educational intervention to improve learning and school success in children with cancer-related cognitive and behavioral late effects. Participants included 73 Latino caregivers of school-age children who are survivors of brain tumor or leukemia and at risk for cognitive late effects. The parents completed a battery of surveys relating to interest in and barriers to intervention participation, as well as measures of parental knowledge and beliefs and their children's cognitive functioning, and health-related quality of life. Results showed that the majority of parents expressed interest in participating in the proposed 8-week intervention, with over 90 % indicating interest in learning more about improving grades, making learning more exciting, being a role model, and the impact of cancer on memory. The factors most strongly related to interest in intervention included lower maternal education as well as perceptions of greater child cognitive difficulties and lower health-related quality of life. The barriers most highly endorsed by the most parents were difficulty paying for gas, child care responsibility, and too much stress in other parts of life. Also highly endorsed as barriers were statements relating to the child's lack of interest and need for services (i.e., my child is doing fine). These findings are consistent with the Health Belief Model wherein decisions to engage in health-related behaviors are made by weighing the potential benefits relative to the costs and barriers.