Social Support to Reduce Uncertainty in Childhood Cancer in South Texas: A Case Study

To determine if supportive measures are found to be most helpful and feasible for families of children with cancer by obtaining in-depth perspectives of uncertainty and adaptation.

Traditional methods of psychosocial support do not meet the needs of parents and families dealing with cancer. Participants prefer more informal meetings and gatherings that are more social in nature.

A descriptive single embedded case study was used to study uncertainty and social support for families with children treated at a pediatric hematology/oncology department in south Texas. The sample included members of the health care team in a pediatric cancer/bone marrow transplant unit and parents of children diagnosed with cancer. Data were gathered through audio-recorded interviews.

Data were transcribed and analyzed through thematic content and pattern matching using computer software.

Four themes were identified: meaning of uncertainty in parents and members of the health care team, facilitators of parental adaptation, education and psychosocial support, and patient/family obstacles hindering successful adaptation. These demonstrated aspects of care interventions, clarifying what uncertainty means and how it affects the ability of parents to adapt to life with pediatric cancer, perceptions regarding the helpfulness of education and support interventions or lack thereof, and what internal and external obstacles hinder the family's adaptation.

Improving patient education through individualization and delivery time frame as well as providing opportunities for informal sharing and community building are key to reducing uncertainty and improving family adaptation to life with childhood cancer.