Methods
Study Participants
Participants were parents and/or primary carers of childhood cancer
patients aged between two and 18 years receiving active treatment for
cancer in a major metropolitan paediatric tertiary referral hospital.
There were no exclusions based on cancer type although all children (of
the parents) were required to be receiving active treatment. Where a
child was undergoing chemotherapy but more than two weeks into the
maintenance stage of their treatment regimen, parents/carers were
excluded. The aim of the study was to assess the diet quality of
childhood cancer patients who were relying on oral intake to maintain
their nutritional status. Only children consuming food orally were
included in the study, with those on enteral or parenteral feeds
excluded. The participants were required to be sufficiently fluent in
English to complete the written questionnaire.