Uncertainty and Nursing Needs of Parents with Pediatric Cancer Patients in Different Treatment Phases: A Cross-Sectional Study

The survival rate of pediatric cancer has increased to 80%, but long-term treatment is required. During treatment, parents experience uncertainty, which affects parents' quality of life and, even worse, their children's health; however, the variation of that uncertainty remains under-studi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2021-04, Vol.18 (8), p.4253
Main Authors: Park, Mijeong, Suh, Eunyoung E, Yu, Soo-Young
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cancer
Cancer therapies
Chemotherapy
Child
Children
Children & youth
Content analysis
Cross-Sectional Studies
Data collection
Disease
Education
Educational Status
Families & family life
Hematology
Hospitals
Humans
Medical diagnosis
Medical prognosis
Neoplasms - therapy
Nurses
Nursing
Nursing care
Parents
Parents & parenting
Patients
Pediatrics
Phases
Quality of Life
Statistical analysis
Stress
Survival
Uncertainty
Variance analysis
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Summary:The survival rate of pediatric cancer has increased to 80%, but long-term treatment is required. During treatment, parents experience uncertainty, which affects parents' quality of life and, even worse, their children's health; however, the variation of that uncertainty remains under-studied. Thus, it is crucial to understand parents' nursing needs in each distinct treatment phase to develop relevant educational content. This study investigated the uncertainty level and nursing needs of parents according to their children's treatment phase. This cross-sectional comparative descriptive study collected survey data from 119 people at a tertiary hospital from December 2017 to April 2018. Nursing needs were ascertained using open-ended questions, and data were analyzed using quantitative content analysis. The uncertainty levels of parents of pediatric cancer patients showed statistically significant differences across treatment phases (F = 8.209, < 0.001). Parents' uncertainty was higher in the treatment initiation phase (87.77 ± 13.43) and when treatment was ongoing (83.33 ± 15.10) than in the post-treatment phase (75.35 ± 12.82). All three groups had nursing needs regarding infection control, diet, daily activities of living, and prognosis. Parents' uncertainty levels and nursing needs differed across treatment phases, suggesting a need for tailored education programs to provide practical support to parents of pediatric cancer patients in each phase.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph18084253