Decision Support Intervention of Minor Cancer Patients and Their Parents

Primary outcomes

1. Exploring decision-making preferences among parents and minor using the Control Preferences Scale (CPS)

   Time frame: baseline and 1.3.6 months

   The CPS is a method for assessing individual preferences in medical decision-making roles, consisting of five options that represent five different roles. (A) I prefer to make the decision about which treatment I will receive, (B) I prefer to make the final decision about my treatment after seriously considering my doctor's opinion, (C) I prefer that my doctor and I share responsibility for deciding which treatment is best for me, (D) I prefer that my doctor makes the final decision about which treatment will be used, but seriously considers my opinion, (E) I prefer to leave all decisions regarding treatment to my doctor. The five responses are classified into three categories representing active(A and B), collaborative (C) and passive (D and E) decision-making preference.

2. Exploring the perceived involvement in decision-making among parents and minor using the Perceived Involvement in Care Scale (PICS)

   Time frame: baseline and 1.3.6 months

   This scale comprises 13 items and is divided into three subscales, which measure physician facilitation (4 items), patient information acquisition (4 items), and patient decision-making involvement (4 items). A 5-point Likert scale is used, where higher scores indicate greater perceived involvement in decision-making.

3. Exploring decision-making experiences of parents and minor using the Decision Conflict Scale (DCS)

   Time frame: baseline and 1.3.6 months

   This scale consists of 16 items, with the first 12 items assessing decision experiences, including uncertainty, understanding of information, unclear values, support during the decision-making process, and satisfaction with decisions. It uses a 5-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating greater decision conflict.

4. Exploring perceived family adaptability and cohesion among parents and minor using the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales IV (FACES IV)

   Time frame: baseline and 1.3.6 months

   The evaluation of family functioning involves: (1) Balanced Scales: Cohesion and Flexibility, (2) Unbalanced Scales: Disengaged, Enmeshed, Rigid, and Chaotic, (3) Family Communication, and (4) Family Satisfaction. The instrument consists of eight subscales with a total of 62 items, rated on a five-point Likert scale. The Family Cohesion and Flexibility scales include 42 items (0-42), divided into six sections with scores ranging from 7 to 35 per section. The Family Communication scale, which assesses positive communication and openness, contains 10 items (43-52) with scores ranging from 10 to 50. The Family Satisfaction scale, measuring satisfaction with cohesion, flexibility, and communication, also has 10 items (53-62), scoring from 10 to 50. Higher scores on Cohesion and Flexibility suggest a healthier family system; higher scores on Disengaged, Enmeshed, Rigid, and Chaotic indicate dysfunction; higher scores on Communication and Satisfaction denote more positive perceptions.

5. Exploring minor' coping behaviors in response to illness and treatment using the Paediatric Cancer Coping Scale

   Time frame: baseline and 1.3.6 months

   This scale consists of 33 items, scored from 0 ("never") to 3 ("often"). Higher scores indicate more frequent coping behaviors.

6. Exploring minor' anxiety levels using the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale-2 (RCMAS-2)

   Time frame: baseline and 1.3.6 months

   This 49-item scale assesses four dimensions: defensiveness, physiological anxiety, worry, social anxiety, and performance anxiety. Responses are either "yes" (indicating the presence of a symptom) or "no" (indicating the absence of a symptom).

7. Exploring parental anxiety under different characteristics using the State-trait anxiety inventory (STAT)

   Time frame: baseline and 1.3.6 months

   This scale consists of 20 items measuring individual anxiety traits under different characteristics. It uses a 4-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating higher levels of anxiety.