School of Nursing, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P.O. Box 62000-00200, Nairobi, Kenya.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, The Aga Khan University, P.O. Box 39340- 00623, Nairobi, Kenya.
BMC Palliat Care. 2024 Oct 11;23(1):242. doi: 10.1186/s12904-024-01573-6.
The number of children diagnosed with cancer is expected to increase by 2050. The caring aspect of these children is usually left to members of the family, more so the mothers. Caregivers are usually faced with various challenges, such as financial issues, social stigma, and emotional and psychological issues. Caregivers use various coping strategies to manage the challenges they experience in the caring process, which can be positive or negative coping strategies.
To explore the challenges and coping strategies of caregivers of children with cancer receiving care at a national referral hospital in Kenya.
This study employed a descriptive phenomenological approach to explore the challenges and coping strategies of caregivers of children with cancer receiving treatment at a national referral hospital in Kenya. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to select 44 participants for five focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted between October and December 2023. The data were analysed via inductive thematic analysis.
Four themes arose from the challenges experienced, which included psychological, financial, treatment-related, and social/family-related issues. These eleven subthemes included stress, depression, lack of transport, lack of food, loss of employment, treatment delays, and marital issues, among others. Two themes related to coping strategies were positive adaptation and denial, which were highlighted as negative coping strategies. Positive coping included praying, crying, talking to people, and seeking help.
Caregivers of children with cancer undergo various challenges and apply various coping strategies to try and adapt to their new normal. Reinforcing positive coping strategies and helping caregivers utilize other coping strategies, such as the use of support groups, could help them better care for their children.
预计到 2050 年，被诊断患有癌症的儿童人数将会增加。这些儿童的护理工作通常由家庭成员承担，尤其是母亲。照顾者通常面临各种挑战，如经济问题、社会耻辱感以及情感和心理问题。照顾者会使用各种应对策略来管理他们在护理过程中所经历的挑战，这些策略可以是积极的也可以是消极的。
探索在肯尼亚一家国家转诊医院接受治疗的儿童癌症照顾者所面临的挑战和应对策略。
本研究采用描述性现象学方法来探索在肯尼亚一家国家转诊医院接受治疗的儿童癌症照顾者所面临的挑战和应对策略。采用目的抽样和滚雪球抽样技术，于 2023 年 10 月至 12 月期间，选择了 44 名参与者参加了 5 次焦点小组讨论（FGD）。通过归纳主题分析对数据进行分析。
从所经历的挑战中得出了四个主题，包括心理、财务、治疗相关和社会/家庭相关问题。这 11 个子主题包括压力、抑郁、缺乏交通工具、缺乏食物、失业、治疗延误和婚姻问题等。与应对策略相关的两个主题是积极适应和否认，这被强调为消极应对策略。积极的应对策略包括祈祷、哭泣、与他人交谈以及寻求帮助。
儿童癌症照顾者面临各种挑战，并应用各种应对策略来努力适应新的常态。加强积极的应对策略并帮助照顾者利用其他应对策略，例如使用支持小组，可能有助于他们更好地照顾自己的孩子。
