Angela M. Feraco

Discipline: Physician

Funding awarded to: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Joint Problem-Solving to Promote Quality of Life Among Children with Cancer

Dr. Feraco’s project investigates team functioning among interprofessional Pediatric Palliative Care teams and interprofessional pediatric oncology teams. She hypothesizes that PPC teams exhibit a higher degree of joint problem-solving around QOL promotion during childhood cancer treatment than do pediatric oncology teams. To investigate this hypothesis, she will field a national survey and corroborate its findings through in-depth interviews and virtual observations of how teams conduct their work. This project holds promise to identify a readily measurable mechanism by which PPC teams promote QOL among children with cancer. Joint problem-solving orientation may emerge as a key indicator of team functioning and as a potential intervention target to enhance primary palliative care. Importantly, findings may extend to QOL promotion in other serious childhood illnesses, such as heart disease and cystic fibrosis.

“In my clinical work I have seen cancer disrupt the rhythms of a child’s life, as well as the family and communities within which the child lives. Through these experiences, I have become deeply committed to pediatric palliative care with the goal of easing family suffering in childhood serious illness. I have also seen that a clinician cannot achieve this goal alone. My overall career goal is to enhance communication and quality of life for children with serious illness through interprofessional teamwork. I seek to develop as an expert on team dynamics empowered to influence the theory and practice of pediatric palliative care and pediatric oncology nationally. I am committed to developing investigators and clinicians across disciplines and hope to enhance quality of life for all seriously ill children.”