Family Life Experiences in Caring for Children With Leukemia: A Literature Review

Abstract

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood cancer, and ALL is the leading cause of death in children. Chronic diseases, one of which is cancer suffered by children, can provide varied responses to families. Caring for children with cancer requires a very long and complex process, so it requires good coordination between children, parents, families and the health team. The purpose of this literature review is to obtain in-depth information on the experiences of parents in caring for children with cancer. The method of writing this article is a literature review of 40 articles with the year 2019-2021 published from electronic database, namely CINAHL, Web of Science, SAGE and Proquest. The method of searching and selecting articles used The Center for Review and Dissemination and the Joanna Briggs Institute Guideline and PRISMA diagram. Checklist with selection criteria using the PICOS approach. The results of a literature review show that while caring for children with cancer, parents experience stress, anxiety about losing a child, uncertainty in child treatment, difficulties in caring for children and family responsibilities. Support in the form of psychosocial, material, and social support is needed for parents. The declining health condition of children is the biggest obstacle for parents, material needs are needed to support the care of children suffering from cancer, and there is hope from parents for their child's recovery.