Stress related to care: the impact of childhood cancer on the lives of parents

Authors

  • Daniela Fernanda dos Santos Alves Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Hospital de Clínicas
  • Edinêis de Brito Guirardello Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Faculdade de Enfermagem
  • Andréa Yamaguchi Kurashima Fundação Antônio Prudente

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692013000100010

Keywords:

Neoplasms, Child, Parents, Pediatric Nursing

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The objective was to assess the stress levels of parents of children with cancer and to identify correlations among demographic data and anxiety levels. METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional study, conducted in two Brazilian institutions, with 101 parents of children with cancer. Through interviews, parents responded to two instruments: Pediatric Inventory for Parents - Brazilian version, which assesses stress levels, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, for the measurement of anxiety. The correlations between the instruments and the sociodemographic variables of the parents and children were evaluated using the Spearman correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Higher levels of stress and anxiety were seen by young parents, young children and with less time since diagnosis. The fear of death and the disease impact on the life of a child were the events considered the most stressful for the parents . CONCLUSIONS: In clinical practice, the nurse who can identify the occurrence of these symptoms becomes capable of planning nursing care that includes the family in decisions about the care. Moreover, she can provide support to help parents manage their stress levels and positively face the illness of their children.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

2013-02-01

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 1 (2013)

Section

Original Articles

License

RLAE’s authorship concept is based on the substantial contribution by each of the individuals listed as authors, mainly in terms of conceiving and planning the research project, collecting or analyzing and interpreting data, writing and critical review. Indication of authors’ names under the article title is limited to six. If more, authors are listed on the online submission form under Acknowledgements. The possibility of including more than six authors will only be examined on multicenter studies, considering the explanations presented by the authors.
Including names of authors whose contribution does not fit into the above criteria cannot be justified. Those names can be included in the Acknowledgements section.
 Authors are fully responsible for the concepts disseminated in their manuscripts, which do not necessarily reflect the editors’ and editorial board’s opinion.

 

How to Cite

Alves, D. F. dos S., Guirardello, E. de B., & Kurashima, A. Y. (2013). Stress related to care: the impact of childhood cancer on the lives of parents . Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem, 21(1), 356-362. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692013000100010