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Needs of young children with cancer during their initial hospitalization: an observational study
Maria Björk1, Berit Nordström, Inger Hallström
1Division of Nursing, Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. maria.bjork@med.lu.se
Insights
Young children with cancer need their parents close by during hospitalization. Supporting parents helps them meet their child's needs for play, participation, and comfort.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Child Psychology
- Healthcare Communication
Background:
- Hospitalization for cancer diagnosis presents unique challenges for young children.
- Understanding children's expressed needs is crucial for supportive care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the needs of children under seven during initial cancer hospitalization.
- To analyze how needs are expressed through behavior, body language, and verbalization.
Main Methods:
- Non-participant, unstructured observations of 12 children (under 7) over 26 hours.
- Content analysis of transcribed field notes at manifest and latent levels.
Main Results:
- Five key themes emerged: parental presence, play/joy, participation in care, staff relationships, and physical/emotional satisfaction.
- The need for parental closeness was the most prominent theme.
- Parental presence facilitated children's expression of other needs.
Conclusions:
- Young children diagnosed with cancer primarily need their parents nearby during hospitalization.
- Healthcare professionals should support parents to effectively assist children through treatment.
- Addressing these needs can alleviate distress during pediatric cancer care.
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to describe young (under the age of 7) children's needs as expressed by their behavior, body language and verbal expression through observations during their initial hospitalization after being diagnosed with cancer. Twelve children under the age of seven were followed during 26 hours with non-participant unstructured observations. Field notes were written after each observation and transcribed into a narrative text, which was analyzed by content analysis at both manifest and latent level. Five themes were identified, of which "need to have the parent close by" was the most prominent. The other themes were "need to play and feel joy," "need for participation in care and treatment," "need for a good relationship with the staff," and "need for physical and emotional satisfaction." The results indicate that the children needed their parents and the parents' presence helped the children to express other needs. Professionals need to support the child and his or her parents so that the parents in their turn can support and alleviate their child's hospitalization and cancer treatment.
