Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, The Bridge, Priory Health Park, Glastonbury Road, Wells, UK.
Psychooncology. 2012 Jun;21(6):647-54. doi: 10.1002/pon.1953. Epub 2011 Mar 10.
This study explores parents' experiences of the end of treatment (EOT) for childhood cancer and aims to develop a theoretical understanding of this transition.
The study used a grounded theory design to develop a theory from 11 semi-structured interviews with parents of children who had finished their cancer treatment. These were transcribed verbatim and analysed.
The core theme of 'the end of treatment is not the end' emerged and reflected the continued process of role and identity changes that parents faced. The results suggest that the active treatment phase and post treatment phases are interlinked and inseparable for parents. The main process identified during treatment was 'getting through' to the EOT and this was managed through parents 'adjusting' and an 'increase in support'. These core processes continued to mediate the process of 'managing the unknown' after treatment, and parents were left with a sense of 'balancing their emotions' between, 'life is very normal' and 'it's not going to go away'.
Across all themes the process of managing identity changes emerged as a key issue for parents, which needs to be considered. During treatment, health professionals have an opportunity to discuss the impact of finishing treatment and prepare parents for this transition and the challenges that they may face.
本研究探讨了父母在儿童癌症治疗结束时的体验，旨在从理论上理解这一过渡。
该研究采用扎根理论设计，对 11 名已完成癌症治疗的儿童的父母进行了 11 次半结构化访谈，并对访谈内容进行了逐字转录和分析。
出现了“治疗结束并不意味着结束”这一核心主题，反映了父母所面临的角色和身份持续变化的过程。结果表明，积极治疗阶段和治疗后阶段对于父母来说是相互关联、不可分割的。在治疗过程中确定的主要过程是“度过”治疗结束期，这是通过父母的“调整”和“增加支持”来管理的。这些核心过程在治疗后继续调解“管理未知”的过程，父母在“生活非常正常”和“它不会消失”之间的情绪之间留下了一种“平衡感”。
在所有主题中，管理身份变化的过程都成为父母的一个关键问题，需要加以考虑。在治疗过程中，卫生专业人员有机会讨论治疗结束的影响，并为父母做好这一过渡和他们可能面临的挑战的准备。
