Parents’ Perspectives of Changes Within the Family Functioning After a Pediatric Cancer Diagnosis: A Multi Family Member Interview Analysis

Schoors, Marieke Van; Mol, Jan De; Morren, Hanne; Verhofstadt, Lesley; Goubert, Liesbet; Parys, Hanna Van

doi:10.1177/1049732317753587

Cited by 52 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…In the third main theme, Working together as a team, family members were forced to rethink their contributions to family life. They felt they needed to work together even better than pre-diagnosis; a finding that has also been found in previous qualitative studies (e.g., Prchal and Landolt, 2012;Van Schoors et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…The present study is part of a larger ongoing study in Flanders (Belgium), examining the impact of a pediatric cancer diagnosis on families (see also Van Schoors et al, 2018, 2019. Using a purposive sampling strategy, children diagnosed with leukemia or non-Hodgkin lymphoma between the age of one and eighteen, their parents and any siblings were invited to take part in a longitudinal survey.…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, as families indicated that they felt supported by each other's presence, efforts should be made to sustain this physical togetherness. For example, the parental desire to accompany the diagnosed child in the hospital around the clock (Van Schoors et al, 2018) illustrates the importance of hospitals providing (the possibility of) rooming in and flexible visiting hours for siblings. Third, clinicians working with families affected by pediatric cancer should be aware of the complexity of the topic when talking about the cancer experience: while some prefer to talk about the cancer, others find it hard to talk about the emotional impact.…”

Section: Implications For Nursing Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

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The family practice of support-giving after a pediatric cancer diagnosis: A multi-family member interview analysis

Schoors

Mol

Verhofstadt

et al. 2020

European Journal of Oncology Nursing

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Purpose: Pediatric cancer presents many challenges to the life of the child diagnosed with cancer and his/her family. Among the studies investigating risk and protective factors, social support has emerged as an important construct. However, little is known on how family members support each other in this particular context. Method: In order to further explore this process, interviews were performed separately with mothers, fathers and siblings. For the purpose of this study (as this is part of a larger project), data from four families in which both parents and at least one sibling participated, were used. Multi Family Member Interview Analysis was used as the methodological framework to analyze the individual interviews, allowing a detailed and systematic analysis of shared family experiences. Results: The analysis of the data revealed three themes: Being together matters: the families identified the need of being physically together; Finding support in (not) talking: the complexity of sharing emotions was explained and Working together as a team: the families described working together as a team in order to get everything organized.Conclusions: This study broadens our understanding of the interpersonal process of family support-giving when facing pediatric cancer. When meeting with families, families should be invited as a unit in order to best capture family level experiences. Also, clinicians should be sensitive to the different cancer-related communication needs within the family (i.e., the need to talk or not to talk) and incorporate this knowledge into their care.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Implications For Nursing Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

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The family practice of support-giving after a pediatric cancer diagnosis: A multi-family member interview analysis

Schoors

Mol

Verhofstadt

et al. 2020

European Journal of Oncology Nursing

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“…Indeed, in most of the included families the mother (temporally) has quit her job to ensure that always one parent could accompany the diagnosed child to the hospital, whereas the father kept working to ensure financial security. As a consequence, whereas the mother's daily life changed completely, the father's daily activities stayed more or less the same as pre-diagnosis (Van Schoors et al, 2018b). Second, parents living in a family with a child who has been diagnosed more recently reported worse family adjustment than those who had been exposed to the illness for a more prolonged period of time, both cross-sectionally and prospectively.…”

Section: Other Findingsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Third, divorced parents reported a lower satisfaction with internal family fit, thus worse family adjustment, than married or cohabiting parents (cross-sectional finding). We might assume that working together as a team (mother and father) helps a parent to cope with the cancer diagnosis, and therefore helps the family as a whole to fulfill all family needs (e.g., individual needs of all family members including those of siblings, household needs, and financial needs) (Van Schoors et al, 2018b), whereas divorced parents are mostly obliged to manage the cancer situation alone. This explanation is strengthened by the present study's finding that the family adjustment is comparable for nuclear families and stepfamilies, emphasizing the need to divide family tasks in order to keep their head up in these difficult times.…”

Section: Other Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family Adjustment When Facing Pediatric Cancer: The Role of Parental Psychological Flexibility, Dyadic Coping, and Network Support

et al. 2019

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Objectives: Pediatric cancer is a life-threatening disease that poses significant challenges to the life of all family members (diagnosed child, parents, and siblings) and the family as a whole. To date, limited research has investigated family adjustment when facing pediatric cancer. The aim of the current study was to explore the role of protective factors at the individual (parental psychological flexibility), intrafamilial (dyadic coping) and contextual level (network support) in explaining family adjustment as perceived by parents of children with leukemia or non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In addition, we were interested to see whether these protective factors could be predictive for family adjustment at a later time point. Method: Participants were 70 mothers and 53 fathers (80 families) of children with leukemia or non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Mean time since diagnosis was 5.26 (T1) and 18.86 (T2) months post-diagnosis. Parents completed the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II (to assess psychological flexibility), Dyadic Coping Inventory, a network support questionnaire, Impact on Family Scale and the Family Adjustment Scale. Both concurrent and prospective association models were tested. Results: Psychological flexibility, dyadic coping and network support proved to be cross-sectionally and positively related to parents' perception of family adjustment postdiagnosis; psychological flexibility and dyadic coping proved to predict better family adjustment over time. Conclusion: Our findings led to the conclusion that protective factors at all three levels (individual, intrafamilial and contextual) are important for explaining family adjustment as perceived by parents facing a diagnosis of cancer in their child. Interventions targeting the individual, couple, as well as family level are warranted to enhance family adjustment.

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Problem-Solving Skills Training for Parents of Children With Chronic Health Conditions

Zhou,

Luo,

Xiong

et al. 2024

JAMA Pediatr

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ImportanceProblem-solving skills training (PSST) has a demonstrated potential to improve psychosocial well-being for parents of children with chronic health conditions (CHCs), but such evidence has not been fully systematically synthesized.ObjectiveTo evaluate the associations of PSST with parental, pediatric, and family psychosocial outcomes.Data SourcesSix English-language databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library), 3 Chinese-language databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal Database, and Wanfang), gray literature, and references were searched from inception to April 30, 2023.Study SelectionRandomized clinical trials (RCTs) that performed PSST for parents of children with CHCs and reported at least 1 parental, pediatric, or family psychosocial outcome were included.Data Extraction and SynthesisStudy selection, data extraction, and quality assessment were conducted independently by 2 reviewers. Data were pooled for meta-analysis using the standardized mean difference (SMD) by the inverse variance method or a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses of children- and intervention-level characteristics were conducted.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe psychosocial outcomes of the parents, their children, and their families, such as problem-solving skills, negative affectivity, quality of life (QOL), and family adaptation.ResultsThe systematic review included 23 RCTs involving 3141 parents, and 21 of these trials were eligible for meta-analysis. There was a significant association between PSST and improvements in parental outcomes, including problem-solving skills (SMD, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.27-0.58), depression (SMD, −0.45; 95% CI, −0.66 to −0.23), distress (SMD, −0.61; 95% CI, −0.81 to −0.40), posttraumatic stress (SMD −0.39; 95% CI, −0.48 to −0.31), parenting stress (SMD, −0.62; 95% CI, −1.05 to −0.19), and QOL (SMD, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.15-0.74). For children, PSST was associated with better QOL (SMD, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.04-1.47) and fewer mental problems (SMD, −0.51; 95% CI, −0.68 to −0.34), as well as with less parent-child conflict (SMD, −0.38; 95% CI, −0.60 to −0.16). Subgroup analysis showed that PSST was more efficient for parents of children aged 10 years or younger or who were newly diagnosed with a CHC. Significant improvements in most outcomes were associated with PSST delivered online.Conclusions and RelevanceThese findings suggest that PSST for parents of children with CHCs may improve the psychosocial well-being of the parents, their children, and their families. Further high-quality RCTs with longer follow-up times and that explore physical and clinical outcomes are encouraged to generate adequate evidence.

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Parents’ Perspectives of Changes Within the Family Functioning After a Pediatric Cancer Diagnosis: A Multi Family Member Interview Analysis

Cited by 52 publications

References 44 publications

The family practice of support-giving after a pediatric cancer diagnosis: A multi-family member interview analysis

The family practice of support-giving after a pediatric cancer diagnosis: A multi-family member interview analysis

Family Adjustment When Facing Pediatric Cancer: The Role of Parental Psychological Flexibility, Dyadic Coping, and Network Support

Problem-Solving Skills Training for Parents of Children With Chronic Health Conditions

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