Nursing Education Office, Faculty of Nursing, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Cancer Nurs. 2011 Jul-Aug;34(4):269-76. doi: 10.1097/NCC.0b013e3181fa5698.
The increasing survival rate of children with cancer because of more refined treatments makes necessary the investigation of psychological burden for the young patients.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the development of psychological problems in children with cancer during the initial 6-month period of intensive treatment.
This prospective, comparative study was conducted at one of the largest Greek pediatric oncology units in Athens. The sample comprised 132 children with cancer treated during a 30-month period and 100 children with no cancer as control group. Data were collected using the Rutter instruments for parents and teachers. For patients, it was completed by their parents at 1 (T1), 3 (T2), and 6 months (T3) from diagnosis and by teachers at T3. In the control group, the questionnaire was completed by teachers and parents once.
The comparison of total Rutter scores for patients at T1, T2, and T3, according to parents' responses, showed statistically significant difference (P < .001). The difference in scores for patients (at T3) and control subjects was also significant according to both parents' (P < .00001) and teachers' (P < .001) responses. Children with leukemia had higher score reduction during treatment (P = .009) compared with the rest. Only age had a marginal impact on score of patients at T1 (R = 0.04).
Based on parental reports, children treated for cancer develop psychological problems during the period of intensive treatment. The development and evolution of these problems depend on their age and type of cancer.
This information can be used for relevant interventions in specific groups.
由于治疗方法的日益精细化，癌症患儿的存活率不断提高，因此有必要对年轻患者的心理负担进行调查。
本研究旨在评估癌症患儿在强化治疗初始 6 个月期间心理问题的发展情况。
这是一项在雅典最大的希腊儿科肿瘤学中心之一进行的前瞻性、对照研究。该样本包括在 30 个月期间接受治疗的 132 名癌症患儿和 100 名无癌症的对照组儿童。使用 Rutter 父母和教师问卷收集数据。对于患儿，由其父母在诊断后 1 个月（T1）、3 个月（T2）和 6 个月（T3）时完成，由教师在 T3 时完成。在对照组中，教师和家长一次性完成问卷。
根据父母的回答，比较患儿在 T1、T2 和 T3 时的总 Rutter 评分，差异具有统计学意义（P <.001）。患儿（T3）和对照组的评分差异也具有统计学意义，无论是父母（P <.00001）还是教师（P <.001）的回答都是如此。与其他癌症类型相比，白血病患儿在治疗期间的评分下降幅度更大（P =.009）。只有年龄对患儿 T1 时的评分有轻微影响（R = 0.04）。
根据父母的报告，接受癌症治疗的儿童在强化治疗期间会出现心理问题。这些问题的发展和演变取决于他们的年龄和癌症类型。
这些信息可用于对特定群体进行相关干预。
