Department of Mental Health Law and Policy, University of South Florida, 13301 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33613, USA.
Department of Psychology & Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, UK.
J Cancer Surviv. 2024 Jun;18(3):950-959. doi: 10.1007/s11764-023-01353-w. Epub 2023 Feb 23.
OBJECTIVES/PURPOSE: Childhood cancer survival brings continued mental and physical health challenges both for the child and for the family. In this study, we investigated how parents viewed their roles in their child's health and symptom monitoring during the survivorship period.
Twenty-one parents of childhood cancer survivors (n = 18 mothers; parent mage = 49.78 years, child mage = 18.50 years; range = 12-25 years), whose children were at least one year off-treatment (m = 3.67 years; SD = 2.25; various diagnoses), completed semi-structured interviews. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Analyses generated three themes which reflect roles that parents may adopt in the context of monitoring symptoms in their childhood cancer survivor. "Vigilant Mama and Papa" (theme 1) described parents who expressed a strong sense of responsibility for protecting their child's health during survivorship resulting in careful monitoring of their child's symptoms and health. "Pragmatic Mamas and Papas" (theme 2) described parents who adopted an approach to symptom and health monitoring that emphasized moving past cancer and focusing on the future. Finally, "Encouraging Mamas and Papas" (theme 3) described parents who focused on educating and preparing their child to develop an autonomous approach to health and symptom self-monitoring as they transitioned to survivorship and adulthood.
Parents take on varying roles in monitoring their child's symptoms and health after finishing childhood cancer treatment.
Understanding the ways in which parents continue to be involved in their child's cancer journey helps researchers develop interventions to support dyadic coping in survivorship.
儿童癌症患者在生存期间会持续面临身心健康方面的挑战，无论是患儿还是其家庭都面临着这些挑战。本研究旨在调查患儿父母在患儿生存期间是如何看待自身在患儿健康和症状监测方面的作用的。
21 名儿童癌症幸存者（18 名母亲，18.50 岁；父母年龄中位数=49.78 岁，儿童年龄中位数=18.50 岁；范围=12-25 岁）的家长参与了本研究，他们的孩子已至少完成一年的治疗（m=3.67 年，SD=2.25 年；各种诊断），并完成了半结构化访谈。访谈采用录音、转录和反思性主题分析的方式进行分析。
分析生成了三个主题，反映了父母在监测儿童癌症幸存者症状时可能采用的角色。“警惕的爸爸妈妈”（主题 1）描述了父母在生存期间对保护孩子健康有着强烈的责任感，这导致他们对孩子的症状和健康进行了仔细的监测。“务实的爸爸妈妈”（主题 2）描述了父母采用一种关注孩子癌症后生活的方法，强调超越癌症，关注未来。最后，“鼓励的爸爸妈妈”（主题 3）描述了父母专注于教育和培养孩子自主进行健康和症状自我监测的能力，随着他们过渡到生存和成年阶段。
父母在完成儿童癌症治疗后，在监测孩子的症状和健康方面承担着不同的角色。
了解父母在孩子癌症治疗过程中继续参与的方式，有助于研究人员开发干预措施，以支持生存期间的双元应对。
