Needs of young children with cancer during their initial hospitalization: an observational study.
Author
Summary, in English
The aim of this study was to describe young (under
the age of 7) children’s needs as expressed by their
behavior, body language and verbal expression through
observations during their initial hospitalization after
being diagnosed with cancer. Twelve children under the
age of seven were followed during 26 hours with nonparticipant unstructured observations. Field notes were
written after each observation and transcribed into a
narrative text, which was analyzed by content analysis
at both manifest and latent level. Five themes were
identified, of which “need to have the parent close by”
was the most prominent. The other themes were “need
to play and feel joy,” “need for participation in care
and treatment,” “need for a good relationship with the
staff,” and “need for physical and emotional satisfaction.”
The results indicate that the children needed their
parents and the parents’presence helped the children to
express other needs. Professionals need to support the
child and his or her parents so that the parents in their
turn can support and alleviate their child’s hospitalization and cancer treatment.
the age of 7) children’s needs as expressed by their
behavior, body language and verbal expression through
observations during their initial hospitalization after
being diagnosed with cancer. Twelve children under the
age of seven were followed during 26 hours with nonparticipant unstructured observations. Field notes were
written after each observation and transcribed into a
narrative text, which was analyzed by content analysis
at both manifest and latent level. Five themes were
identified, of which “need to have the parent close by”
was the most prominent. The other themes were “need
to play and feel joy,” “need for participation in care
and treatment,” “need for a good relationship with the
staff,” and “need for physical and emotional satisfaction.”
The results indicate that the children needed their
parents and the parents’presence helped the children to
express other needs. Professionals need to support the
child and his or her parents so that the parents in their
turn can support and alleviate their child’s hospitalization and cancer treatment.
Department/s
Publishing year
2006
Language
English
Pages
9-210
Publication/Series
Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing
Volume
23
Issue
4
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Topic
- Nursing
Keywords
- childhood cancer
- hospitalization
- needs
- observation
Status
Published
Project
- Children with cancer
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1043-4542