Discharge Planning in Children With Cancer: Components, Strategies, and Outcomes-A Scoping Review (2021-2025).
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BackgroundEffective discharge planning is essential for safe transitions from hospital to home for children with cancer, yet practices vary widely and depend on family readiness, health literacy, and available resources. However, evidence describing its key components and effective delivery remains limited. This scoping review aimed to map contemporary evidence on the components, implementation strategies, outcomes, and contextual factors influencing discharge planning for children with cancer.MethodsThe review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute Scoping Review Framework and was reported according to PRISMA-ScR. We searched PubMed, ScienceDirect, Wiley, SAGE, and EBSCO, supplemented by secondary searching, for studies published between 2021 and 2025. Eligible studies included children with cancer and their caregivers and addressed discharge planning or hospital-to-home transition education. Twenty studies met the criteria. Two researchers independently extracted and verified the data, and findings were synthesized through thematic categorization aligned with the scoping review objectives.ResultsMost studies were conducted in high-income countries, with limited evidence from middle-income settings. Four core components consistently emerged: structured and staged education, caregiver readiness assessment, nurse-led multidisciplinary coordination, and post-discharge follow-up. Commonly reported strategies included teach-back and multimodal education. Reported outcomes included improvements in caregiver preparedness, confidence, and medication safety, as well as reduced preventable readmissions.DiscussionDischarge planning for children with cancer is commonly described as effective when structured, family-centered, multidisciplinary, and delivered in clear stages with standardized support. These findings underscore the need for context-specific discharge models and further intervention studies to strengthen continuity of care and reduce preventable complications.