Supporting pupils with cancer on their return to school: a case study report of a reintegration program

AbstractOpting for a qualitative approach in order to get a better insight in related processes at individual level, our study draws upon a single case research analysis. The case of an 11 year old boy who was diagnosed with leukaemia will be presented. The first part of the program deals with the semi-structured interviews involving parents, child and the school personnel aiming at exploring and identifying eventual difficulties related to the implementation of the intervention. Whereas, the second part deals with school staff workshops, peer education and counselling targeting at promoting family, school and hospital collaboration. The reintegration program increased teachers, peers and parents’ knowledge concerning the medical and psychosocial aspects of cancer. An improvement of teachers and peers’ attitude towards the suffering child was also observed. The creative collaboration of school, family and hospital definitely facilitated the progressive transition of the ill child back into the educational system

Using CRISPR/Cas9 to study SPOCK1 in pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is among the most aggressive tumours, with a devastating 5-year survival rate of less than 9%. This is in part the result of the development of an abundant desmoplastic stroma which surrounds, protects, and actively promotes a tumour conducive environment. The stroma is largely composed of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, cells such as fibroblasts and stellate cells that are activated in response to the tumour and soluble proteins. Among these is a group of non-structural proteins that play a central role in the mediating interactions between cells and the ECM. SPOCK1 is a member of the Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) family of matricellular proteins. In various tumours, several oncogenic roles have been described for SPOCK1 such as promoting invasiveness and metastasis. Clinical samples correlate SPOCK1 expression with advanced PDAC tumours and poor prognosis. However, very little is currently known on the mechanisms of action in PDAC but interactions with matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and growth factors, and activation of the Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway are suspected. This research project aimed to understand the role of SPOCK1 in stromal and pancreatic cancer cell growth and adhesion. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) gene editing technique was used to attempt to knockdown (KD) SPOCK1. However, while a preliminary T7 endonuclease 1 (T7E1) assay indicated the presence of a mutation, Clustal omega analysis of sequencing of the CRISPR/Cas9 transfected cell lines failed to show a mutation in the SPOCK1 region. Despite the lack of mutation in the SPOCK1 target region, functional assays showed effects on both cell growth and adhesion suggesting off-target binding of Cas9 to the single guide RNA (sgRNA). Several off-target gene were identified with sgRNA sequence similarity to SPOCK1. Further experiments searching for interactions between SPOCK1 protein and ECM components revealed fibronectin, fibroblast growth factor, collagen, and membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase as direct binding partners of SPOCK1, suggesting that the SPOCK1 protein has diverse roles in the PDAC ECM

How Adolescent Students with Disabilities and /or Complex Needs Perceive the Notion of Resilience:A Study in Greece and England

Adolescents with behavioral and learning difficulties are at increased risk in relation to psychological and social well-being. This study aimed to investigate the views and experiences of adolescent students, diagnosed with a variety of complex needs such as behavioral, emotional and learning difficulties, to explore potential risk and protective factors that they perceive can enable or constrain resilience. Participants in the study were adolescents both from the UK (n=12) and Greece (n=14), all of whom were receiving additional learning and psychological support in their school settings. A qualitative research design employed the ‘draw and write’ technique in addition to face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Data analysis identified the protective and risk factors that adolescents associated with resilience. Two distinct categories of protective factors emerged from the data: a) personal (positive thoughts, nutrition and achievements) and b) socio-ecological factors (significant others, activities, pets, places). Risk factors were also divided into two categories: a) personal (negative thoughts and feelings and health problems) and b) socio-ecological factors (relational problems). Findings highlight the complex interplay between personal and socio-ecological factors in building resilience in adolescents who are at increased risk in relation to psychological and social well-being

Aspirations of vulnerable young people in foster care

Youth unemployment is significantly associated with mental health difficulties. This collaborative research project was conducted in Greece and the UK. It aimed to understand the work aspirations of a group of vulnerable young people in care and the barriers they face in terms of youth unemployment. The task within this work package was to support young people in foster care using a qualitative participative approach to identify resilience strategies to help other young people in care. Co-producing a resource that is of value to the young people involved in the task in each country was the main deliverable. This report provides a summary of the work conducted and provides an outline of the highly illustrated resources that were developed

Inclusion of students with health problems: Beliefs of school teachers, parents, students and children with chronic illness

The school inclusion of students with chronic illness is a research area that has not been investigated extensively by Greek researchers. The main reason for this absence of interest in the education of students with chronic illnesses is that “illness” is considered as a topic that concerns mainly the medical services, without however recognizing the psychological, social and educational needs of the students who suffer from a chronic illness. One major aspect of an increased quality of life of children with chronic illness is also their education. The purpose of the present study is to investigate all the possible parameters which play a major role to the complete attendance and acceptance of the student with chronic illness in his/her school environment. For this reason we took into account the views of all the involved institutions: teachers, students, parents of children with chronic illness and the students with chronic illness. The collaboration among family, school and medical personnel, the education/information of teachers and students, the nomination of a psychologist/mediator/co-ordinator and the existence of a nurse in the school, are the most important parameters, which according to the participants of our study, can lead to a successful school inclusion of the student with a chronic illness.Η συνεκπαίδευση του μαθητή με χρόνιο νόσημα είναι ένα θέμα που δεν έχει απασχολήσει σε μεγάλο βαθμό την ελληνική εκπαιδευτική πραγματικότητα. Ο κυριότερος λόγος για αυτή την απουσία ενασχόλησης με την εκπαίδευση του παιδιού με χρόνιο νόσημα, είναι ότι η «ασθένεια» θεωρείται σαν ένα ζήτημα που απασχολεί τις ιατρικές κυρίως υπηρεσίες, χωρίς όμως να αναγνωρίζονται οι συναισθηματικές, κοινωνικές και εκπαιδευτικές ανάγκες του μαθητή που νοσεί. Εάν θέλουμε να κάνουμε λόγο για μια αναβαθμισμένη ποιότητα ζωής του παιδιού με χρόνιο νόσημα δεν μπορούμε να μη λάβουμε υπόψη την παράμετρο της εκπαίδευσής του. Στόχος της παρούσας μελέτης είναι η ανίχνευση όλων εκείνων των παραμέτρων με τις οποίες μπορεί να επιτευχθεί η πλήρης συμμετοχή και αποδοχή του παιδιού με χρόνιο νόσημα στο σχολικό του περιβάλλον. Για το λόγο αυτό συλλέξαμε τις απόψεις όλων των εμπλεκομένων φορέων: εκπαιδευτικών, μαθητών, γονέων παιδιών με χρόνιο νόσημα αλλά και των ίδιων των μαθητών που νοσούν. Η συνεργασία μεταξύ οικογένειας-σχολείου-ιατρικού προσωπικού, η ενημέρωση εκπαιδευτικών και μαθητών, ο διορισμός ψυχολόγου/διαμεσολαβητή και η ύπαρξη νοσηλευτή στο σχολείο, είναι μερικές από τις πιο σημαντικές παραμέτρους που σύμφωνα με τους συμμετέχοντες στην έρευνά μας, μπορούν να οδηγήσουν σε μια επιτυχημένη σχολική φοίτηση των μαθητών με χρόνιο νόσημα

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Containment Measures on Families and Children with Moderate and High-Functioning ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)

The present study focuses on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) transmission prevention measures and, in particular, home confinement of families with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Greece. It is assumed that the implemented new measures during the pandemic constitute a profound change for children on the spectrum, considering that the core ASD symptoms include the persistence and adherence to routine and stability, a condition that also directly affects the children’s parents. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted. Participants were 10 caregivers with a child diagnosed with ASD of medium or high functioning in Greece. The ages of the children range from 6.5 to 15 years old. The results of the thematic analysis revealed three main themes: (1) the educational framework, (2) the management of daily life, and (3) the construction of the new daily routine. These three themes represent the levels that have undergone a decisive transition, and the sub-themes recommend the areas, individual ways of dealing with this shift. So far, the impact of the pandemic mitigation measures cannot be described as generally positive or negative, as there have been advances and setbacks for children and families alike. Finally, governmental measures and technology-assisted teaching (distance learning) were considered necessary but not sufficient enough for full adaptation

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Containment Measures on Families and Children with Moderate and High-Functioning ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)

The present study focuses on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) transmission prevention measures and, in particular, home confinement of families with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Greece. It is assumed that the implemented new measures during the pandemic constitute a profound change for children on the spectrum, considering that the core ASD symptoms include the persistence and adherence to routine and stability, a condition that also directly affects the children’s parents. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted. Participants were 10 caregivers with a child diagnosed with ASD of medium or high functioning in Greece. The ages of the children range from 6.5 to 15 years old. The results of the thematic analysis revealed three main themes: (1) the educational framework, (2) the management of daily life, and (3) the construction of the new daily routine. These three themes represent the levels that have undergone a decisive transition, and the sub-themes recommend the areas, individual ways of dealing with this shift. So far, the impact of the pandemic mitigation measures cannot be described as generally positive or negative, as there have been advances and setbacks for children and families alike. Finally, governmental measures and technology-assisted teaching (distance learning) were considered necessary but not sufficient enough for full adaptation

‘One Step Forward': Resilient strategies supporting the aspirations of vulnerable young people in foster care

Young people with mental health difficulties are much more likely to have difficultyfinding any form of employment. Young people who have grown up in foster careexperience multiple disadvantages. Within the STYLE project, we established acollaborative research project between Greece and the UK to examine these issues.It aimed to understand the work aspirations of a group of vulnerable young people incare and the barriers they face in terms of youth unemployment.The task within the project was to support young people in foster care using aqualitative participative approach to identify resilience strategies to help other youngpeople in care. The main outcome from the collaboration resulted in co-producing anopen-access resource book called One Step Forward, which is of value to the youngpeople involved in the task in each country. We wanted to explore with the youngpeople the questions ‘What are the work aspirations of vulnerable young people incare? And what barriers do they face in finding work?