Grandparents of children with cancer: a controlled comparison of perceived family functioning.

Autor: Kelada L; School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, 2031, Australia. l.kelada@unsw.edu.au.; Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital, High Street, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia. l.kelada@unsw.edu.au., Wakefield CE; School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, 2031, Australia.; Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital, High Street, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia., Doolan EL; School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, 2031, Australia.; Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital, High Street, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia., Drew D; Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital, High Street, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia., Wiener L; Behavioral Health Core, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA., Michel G; Department of Health Sciences and Health Policy, University of Lucerne, Frohburgstrasse 3, 6002, Lucerne, Switzerland.; Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Finkenhubelweg 11, 3012, Bern, Switzerland., Cohn RJ; School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, 2031, Australia.; Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital, High Street, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer [Support Care Cancer] 2019 Jun; Vol. 27 (6), pp. 2087-2094. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Sep 18.
DOI: 10.1007/s00520-018-4468-7
Abstrakt: Purpose: Grandparents can be profoundly emotionally affected when a grandchild is diagnosed with cancer. They also often provide invaluable support for the family (e.g., caring for the sick child and/or siblings). Multigenerational family functioning may therefore change. Limited research has assessed grandparents' perspectives after their grandchild is diagnosed with cancer. In this study, we aimed to (1) assess differences in perceived family functioning among grandparents of a child with cancer and grandparents of healthy children and (2) assess the cancer-specific and demographic factors related to perceived family functioning in grandparents of a grandchild with cancer.
Procedure: Grandparents of a child with cancer (n = 89) and grandparents of healthy children (n = 133) completed the general functioning, communication, and problem-solving scales of the Family Assessment Device. We used multilevel models with a random intercept to detect (1) between-group differences and (2) identify factors related to perceived family functioning among grandparents with a grandchild with cancer.
Results: Grandparents with a grandchild with cancer reported poorer family functioning than grandparents with healthy grandchildren. Among the grandparents with a grandchild with cancer, impairments in family functioning were correlated with fewer years since diagnosis, providing care to their sick grandchild and/or siblings and living far away from the sick grandchild.
Conclusions: The detrimental impact of childhood cancer likely extends beyond the immediate family members. Including grandparents in interventions-beginning at diagnosis-to reduce distress and increase cohesion for families of a child with cancer is warranted, particularly for grandparents who provide care to their sick grandchild or siblings.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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