Psychological Distress and Associated Factors in Parents of Children with Cancer

Abstract

Abstract-Introduction: Diagnosis of cancer in children poses a challenging situation for parents to cope with. Method: Seventy-nine (N = 79) parents whose children are receiving treatment for cancer in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia participated in this cross-sectional descriptive study. They completed a set questionnaire measuring their level of anxiety and stress, knowledge about cancer, and amount of activities they perform with or for the child to enhance the child's coping abilities, in addition to children's psychological problems. Socio-demographic information was obtained. Results: Parents with higher cancer knowledge reported reduced stress (p<0.01) and anxiety (p<0.05). The higher the income (p<0.05) and education (p<0.01), the higher cancer knowledge. Parental stress was negatively correlated with income (p<0.05) and education (p<0.01), indicating that the better educated and higher the salary, less stress symptoms. Highly educated parents engaged in more activities with their children (p<0.05). Parental anxiety was correlated significantly with children's current treatment including chemotherapy procedure (p<0.01), 'In-patient' Vs 'Outpatient' (p<0.01), and children's condition (p<0.01). Parents of hospitalized children who underwent chemotherapy were significantly more anxious than their counterparts. Parents who perceived their children's current condition as 'very good', reported reduced anxiety, compared to those who reported their child's condition as 'ok'. The more psychological problems the children had, the higher parental anxiety (p<0.05) and stress symptoms (p<0.01). Discussion: Some groups of parents reported more psychological difficulties compared to others. Ongoing psychological assessment and intervention may reduce parental stress by increasing coping and reducing children psychological problems.

Health satisfaction and family impact of parents of children with cancer: a descriptive cross‐sectional study

“…A timeline of parental quality of life is seen (10), with most psychological distress at the point of diagnosis. Significant distress remains during treatment (1,16), correlating positively with the intensity of treatment (3) and especially chemotherapy (17). A review in Australia noted that completion of treatment can provoke intensified parental anxiety and additional stress as parents lose the security of the treatment regime and fear recurrence or relapse.…”

“…The child's behaviour and care-giving demands also reduce parental physical and mental health (4,23). Knowledge of the cancer decreased the stress experienced by Malaysian mothers (17), while better parental health habits (sleeping and diet) were protective in Canadian mothers (10). Optimism correlated with better satisfaction with life, anxiety, depression and perceptions of health for British parents (6).…”

Parents' knowledge and attitude regarding their child's cancer and effectiveness of initial disease counseling in pediatric oncology patients

“…[ 4 ] A study among Hong Kong Chinese families suggested that knowing more about disease did not necessarily result in increased fear among parents. [ 5 ] On the other hand, providing adequate information has found to reduce uncertainty and help parents regain a sense of control over the situation pertaining to their child's illness, thus facilitating better coping.…”

“…A study from Malaysia showed that parents with higher level of education showed better cancer knowledge, and had lesser stress and anxiety. [ 5 ] A few studies evaluating the impacts of education and socioeconomic status of parents on pediatric cancer survival rates have shown that these constructs may influence treatment understanding and risk for psychological distress. [ 6 ] Contrary to this, other researchers have found that mothers' education level was not significantly correlated with cancer-related stress.…”

“…[ 7 ] A study linking cancer knowledge and problem-solving ability of mothers demonstrated that, even though cancer knowledge was significantly associated with educational level of the parent, it did not contribute to the variance in psychological adjustment such as depression and mood states or problem-solving ability. [ 5 ]…”