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Three wishes of a child with cancer
1Family Health Care Nursing, University of California, San Francisco.
Insights
Children with cancer in Taiwan primarily wish to go home and be cured. Age influences wishes, with younger children desiring play and possessions, while older children focus on recovery and returning to school.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Child Psychology
- Nursing Care
Background:
- Understanding the psychosocial needs of children with cancer is crucial for effective care.
- The wishes and desires of pediatric cancer patients can offer insights into their coping mechanisms and priorities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the wishes of children diagnosed with cancer in Taiwan.
- To identify age-specific differences in the expressed wishes of these children.
- To inform nursing interventions that align with patients' hopes and facilitate therapeutic goals.
Main Methods:
- A qualitative study involving 37 children aged 4-16 with cancer in Taiwan.
- Participants were asked to identify their three primary wishes.
- Wishes were analyzed based on age groups: preschool, school-age, and adolescents.
Main Results:
- A significant majority (75%) wished to go home, and 90% wished for a cure.
- Preschoolers prioritized play, going home, and desired objects.
- School-age children and adolescents predominantly wished for a cure, to go home, and, for adolescents, to return to school.
Conclusions:
- Children's wishes are significantly influenced by their age and developmental stage.
- Nurses should actively engage with children to understand their hopes, facilitating a more patient-centered and therapeutic care approach.
- Addressing children's wishes can help reduce the trauma associated with cancer treatment and hospitalization.
Abstract:
Thirty-seven children in Taiwan with cancer, ranging in age from 4 to 16 were asked to identify their three wishes. Nearly three-quarters of the total sample "wished" to go home from the hospital and 90% used one of their wishes in hopes to be cured. Preschool youngsters were more eager to resume play activities (64%), to go home (36%), and to own some desired object (36%); while school-age children hoped primarily to be cured (44%), to go home (39%) and to have more physical exercise (28%). Adolescents wished to have their disease cured (100%), return to school (63%) and to go home (37%). Gender differences seemed to have little impact on the wishes of children. The following study underscores the need for nurses to understand the hopes and dreams of children with cancer in order to work with these children toward their own envisioned futures while making the present as least traumatic as possible. Indeed, such mutual goal-setting is at the heart of the therapeutic nursing process for clients of any age and any culture.
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