Parents' Long-Term Retention of the Family Talk Intervention in Pediatric Oncology

Background: Despite the significant psychosocial challenges faced by families in pediatric oncology, there is a notable lack of long-term scientific evaluations of family-based psychosocial interventions that address the needs of the entire family. This study examines parental retention 4-5 years after participating in a psychosocial family-based intervention family talk intervention (FTI). FTI consists of 6-11 manual-based meetings. The main goals of FTI are to facilitate family communication about illness-related topics, support parenting, and make the children's needs visible. Method: This qualitative study included interviews from 30 parents from 18 families who had participated in FTI 4-5 years earlier. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Results: Parents reported that they still used several of the strategies they had learned during FTI that helped them to continue to share their thoughts and emotions and maintain an open communication within the family, which reduced the family's stress. Parents also used strategies that helped them to put the spotlight on the children and to increase the democracy in the family. Their participation provided a springboard to participate in new contexts outside the hospital where they share their difficulties with other parents. Discussion: Long-term evaluation is crucial for understanding an intervention's sustainability over time. The psychosocial intervention, FTI, remained beneficial for families even 4-5 years after their participation, with the strategies learned during FTI demonstrating long-term persistence and enhancing parents' resilience in coping with adverse life events.