Pediatric Oncology Knowledge Mobilization in Canada: A Environmental Scan.

Abstract

IntroductionNon-profit organizations play a key role in supporting knowledge dissemination activities. However, their contribution to these activities in-person and online in the pediatric oncology field remains unclear. Our study aims to provide an overview of the pediatric oncology charitable organizational landscape and describe their knowledge mobilization efforts related to dissemination, highlighting existing strengths, gaps, and opportunities to strengthen and unite efforts.MethodsA bilingual environmental scan was conducted using an internet-based search strategy to identify Canadian pediatric oncology non-profit organizations. Eligible organizations were screened, and data on their characteristics and knowledge dissemination strategies were extracted. Extracted data were analyzed descriptively and presented in tables, spatially, and narratively with figures.ResultsThe scan identified 906 results, and 25 organizations were eligible for inclusion in the study. Eleven organizations (44%) are based in Ontario. The decade where the highest number of organizations were founded is 2000-2009 (n = 9, 36%), offering primarily English-only content (n = 18, 72%). Only six (26.1%) provided bilingual resources. Among the knowledge dissemination strategies, digital knowledge dissemination activities were utilized often, with all organizations using websites and social media (particularly Facebook, n=25 (100%), and Instagram, n =24 (96%)).ConclusionThis study identified the current list and knowledge dissemination efforts of non-profit organizations in the pediatric oncology community in Canada but reveals gaps in bilingual content and in other major languages spoken in the country, geographic physical location, and centralized resources.