Access and Barriers to Fostering and Adoption in Patients with Cancer, Chronic Health Conditions or Disabilities

Tharani Tharmakumar (a medical student at UNSW), under supervision of Dr Antoinette Anazodo and Ms Eden Robertson, is undertaking the project as detailed below. If you would like to participate, please read the Recruitment flyer here.

Project title: Access and barriers to fostering and adoption in patients with cancer, chronic health conditions or disabilities.

Background: Literature suggests that this population may face unfair challenges and discrimination due to a medical history that in many cases will not impact on the quality of care a child will receive. We hope that this project will allow future improvement to the adoption/fostering process for such patients, which is a goal that will encourage reform and empower a subset of Australians to provide permanency for children.

Aim: We aim to explore barriers and support that our target population experiences when it comes to the adoption/fostering process as well as examining this from a patient point of view.

Eligibility: The focus is on cancer survivors (>5 years post treatment), and patients with chronic health conditions (including diabetes, cystic fibrosis, chronic kidney disease, etc) or disability.

Method: The study involves phone interviews (around 30 minutes) with eligible patients who have considered or been successful in adopting/fostering, and then analysis of the themes present in their experiences and perspectives