Fear, coping and support- from the perspective of children aged 10-17-year old having acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Purpose To describe experiences of fear, coping, and support in 10–17-year-old children under treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Methods A longitudinal descriptive qualitative design was adopted. Ten children participated in one to three interviews each (24 interviews in all). Interv...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2024-12-01
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Series: | International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2310147 |
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author | Ingela Leibring Annica Kihlgren Agneta Anderzén-Carlsson |
author_facet | Ingela Leibring Annica Kihlgren Agneta Anderzén-Carlsson |
author_sort | Ingela Leibring |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Purpose To describe experiences of fear, coping, and support in 10–17-year-old children under treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Methods A longitudinal descriptive qualitative design was adopted. Ten children participated in one to three interviews each (24 interviews in all). Interviews were analysed using a matrix-based qualitative method. Results The variety of fears described related to uncertainty, pain and medical procedures, bodily changes and loss of control, complications, professionals’ attitudes, affected school results, and social isolation. Children used various strategies to deal with fear: some more general, to cope with the whole situation, and others more related to specific events such as treatment and tests. The most reported strategies we labelled Accepting the situation, Positive thinking, and Being an active agent. Less favourable strategies were also reported. Health care professionals, families, and friends offered valuable, but different kinds of, support. Conclusions Children aged 10 to 17 undergoing treatment for ALL experience various fears. Each experience is individual and changes over time, but there are common patterns. Most children used problem-solving or emotional-regulation strategies, but withdrawal was also reported. Even children who can deal with fear need support from their health care professionals, families, and friends. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:47:24Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-a0e3bd5dfe274d87b2f32b9bdc466074 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1748-2623 1748-2631 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:47:24Z |
publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
record_format | Article |
series | International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being |
spelling | doaj.art-a0e3bd5dfe274d87b2f32b9bdc4660742024-02-19T09:32:28ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being1748-26231748-26312024-12-0119110.1080/17482631.2024.23101472310147Fear, coping and support- from the perspective of children aged 10-17-year old having acute lymphoblastic leukemiaIngela Leibring0Annica Kihlgren1Agneta Anderzén-Carlsson2Karlstad UniversityÖrebro UniversityÖrebro UniversityPurpose To describe experiences of fear, coping, and support in 10–17-year-old children under treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Methods A longitudinal descriptive qualitative design was adopted. Ten children participated in one to three interviews each (24 interviews in all). Interviews were analysed using a matrix-based qualitative method. Results The variety of fears described related to uncertainty, pain and medical procedures, bodily changes and loss of control, complications, professionals’ attitudes, affected school results, and social isolation. Children used various strategies to deal with fear: some more general, to cope with the whole situation, and others more related to specific events such as treatment and tests. The most reported strategies we labelled Accepting the situation, Positive thinking, and Being an active agent. Less favourable strategies were also reported. Health care professionals, families, and friends offered valuable, but different kinds of, support. Conclusions Children aged 10 to 17 undergoing treatment for ALL experience various fears. Each experience is individual and changes over time, but there are common patterns. Most children used problem-solving or emotional-regulation strategies, but withdrawal was also reported. Even children who can deal with fear need support from their health care professionals, families, and friends.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2310147childrenfearcopingsupportacute lymphoblastic leukaemia |
spellingShingle | Ingela Leibring Annica Kihlgren Agneta Anderzén-Carlsson Fear, coping and support- from the perspective of children aged 10-17-year old having acute lymphoblastic leukemia International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being children fear coping support acute lymphoblastic leukaemia |
title | Fear, coping and support- from the perspective of children aged 10-17-year old having acute lymphoblastic leukemia |
title_full | Fear, coping and support- from the perspective of children aged 10-17-year old having acute lymphoblastic leukemia |
title_fullStr | Fear, coping and support- from the perspective of children aged 10-17-year old having acute lymphoblastic leukemia |
title_full_unstemmed | Fear, coping and support- from the perspective of children aged 10-17-year old having acute lymphoblastic leukemia |
title_short | Fear, coping and support- from the perspective of children aged 10-17-year old having acute lymphoblastic leukemia |
title_sort | fear coping and support from the perspective of children aged 10 17 year old having acute lymphoblastic leukemia |
topic | children fear coping support acute lymphoblastic leukaemia |
url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2310147 |
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