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The aftermath of bone marrow transplant for parents of pediatric patients: a post-traumatic stress disorder
S P Heiney1, R W Neuberg, D Myers
1Center for Cancer and Treatment and Research, Richland Memorial Hospital.
Insights
Parents experiencing a child's bone marrow transplant (BMT) may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Understanding BMT
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
- Childhood Cancer
- Parental Mental Health
Background:
- Childhood bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is a life-saving but intensely stressful medical procedure.
- Parental psychological well-being is crucial for supporting children through BMT.
- Limited understanding exists regarding specific BMT-related stressors that may trigger parental post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify characteristics of the pediatric bone marrow transplant (BMT) experience that can precipitate post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in parents.
- To explore the applicability of the PTSD framework to parental responses during and after a child's BMT.
Main Methods:
- Review of published literature, including articles and books.
- Integration of authors' extensive clinical experience with pediatric BMT patients and their families.
Main Results:
- Parental reactions to a child's BMT align with the diagnostic criteria for PTSD.
- Key parallels include the perception of BMT as a traumatic event, re-experiencing traumatic aspects, and experiencing intrusive thoughts.
- Parents exhibit diverse emotional and cognitive responses consistent with PTSD symptomatology.
Conclusions:
- The post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) framework offers a valuable lens for understanding parental distress during pediatric bone marrow transplantation (BMT).
- Healthcare providers can utilize PTSD-informed strategies to develop effective interventions for families undergoing BMT.
- Nurses play a vital role in providing pre-BMT orientation, education, coaching, and peer support, as well as post-BMT debriefing and counseling.
Purpose/Objectives:
To describe the characteristics of a child's bone marrow transplant (BMT) experience that may precipitate a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the parent.
Data Sources:
Published articles, books, and the authors' clinical experience.
Data Synthesis:
When viewed from the PTSD framework, parental reactions to a child's BMT offer striking parallels that include assessment of the event as traumatic, re-experiencing the event, intrusive thoughts, and a variety of emotional and cognitive responses. Interventions based on PTSD research can be implemented in clinical settings to diminish and treat these responses.
Conclusions:
The PTSD framework holds promise for healthcare providers in devising strategies to help families of children undergoing BMT to cope with the experience.
Implications For Nursing Practice:
Nurses can use orientation, education, coaching, and peer support to help families before BMT and debriefing and counseling after BMT.