CN4 - Parents’ lived experience of children with leukemia

Background

Cancer of childhood affects families' quality of life. It possesses a deep challenge on parents’ emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual wellbeing. In Saudi Arabia, leukemia is the most common cancer in children. It accounts about 34.8% and 35.3% of all cancers in females and males respectively, below 14 years of age. When children are diagnosed with chronic illness, parents are profoundly affected. In cancer and specifically when leukemia is diagnosed Parents concerns and anxiety are experienced from diagnosis phase, during treatment phase, and may extend until after the treatment completes. The aim of the study is to explore the parents lived experience of a child diagnosed with leukemia in Saudi Arabia.

Methods

Qualitative approach where a phenomenological study design is implemented to explore the parents lived experience of a child with leukemia. The Population comprises of all parents with children diagnosed with leukemia and at a stage of receiving treatment. A purposive sampling process implemented to recruit those parents who lived the experience. Parents of a child with leukemia were recruited from a Bone Marrow Transplant unit in a tertiary hospital treating cancer patients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Data collected via semi structure interviews, where participants narrated their lived experience of taking care of a child diagnosed with leukemia. Data analyzed via inductive verbatim analysis process used to uncover the meaning of the phenomena experienced by parents of children diagnosed with leukemia.

Results

Twelve participants (majority females) joined the individual semi-structured interview and narrated their lived experience. Based on the inductive verbatim analysis four themes emerged, 1) Psychological exhaustion, 2) Treatment plan & coordination, 3) Family burden, and 4) Changed priority.

Conclusions

The study explored the lived experience of parents of children with leukemia in Saudi Arabia. Participants had a chance to express their feelings and everyday life experience since their beloved children diagnosed with leukemia. Results of this study would increase the hematology healthcare providers awareness about the parents’ lived experience and would help in developing strategies that could enhance the system and the family experience.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.