Stress and influencing factor among children diagnosed with cancer at hospitals in Nepal: a cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION

Cancer is a life-threatening condition that necessitates sophisticated therapeutic interventions and potential remedies. During the period of cancer, children experience considerable stress, which markedly affects their capacity to recuperate from their medical conditions. However, there is a relative scarcity of research focusing on stress and its influencing factors compared to the extensive studies conducted on post-traumatic stress disorder and parental stress in the context of children with cancer.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted at four different hospitals in Nepal; 259 children with cancer were recruited, but we found 246 data appropriate and analyzed. Data was collected using the translated Nepali version of the perceived stress scale. Mean Standard deviation, frequency, and percentage, ANOVA test, T-test, Linear Regression analyses and multiple regressions analysis were used to characterize and analyze the influencing factors of stress.

RESULTS

In this study, the stress levels of children with cancer are 18.00 ± 4.73 (Mean ± SD), of which the stressor and stress buffer were 9.76 ± 2.67, 8.24 ± 3.688 (Mean ± SD), respectively. The study's finding showed a remarkable association between stress and factors like sex, education level, the duration of diagnosis, current health status, reasons for hospital visits including pain (P < 0.05). The linear regression model showed that stress is associated with socio-demographic variables sex in which female children are more stressed (β = 1.750 (95% CI: 0.46, 3.03) P < 0.05) and clinical features duration of diagnosis as the time increase (12 < Month ≤ 24) level of stress decreased (β =-1.730 (95% CI: -3.20,-0.25) P < 0.05.

CONCLUSION

Empirical evidence supports the fact that children experience considerable stress during cancer treatment; thus, healthcare professionals need to evaluate the stress levels encountered by the patient. Healthcare professionals also need to formulate and execute suitable strategies to mitigate this stress during hospital visits, as it can impede the recovery.