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...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ingela Leibring, Annica Kihlgren, Agneta Anderzén-Carlsson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2310147
_version_ 1797303119766355968
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
work_keys_str_mv AT ingelaleibring fearcopingandsupportfromtheperspectiveofchildrenaged1017yearoldhavingacutelymphoblasticleukemia
AT annicakihlgren fearcopingandsupportfromtheperspectiveofchildrenaged1017yearoldhavingacutelymphoblasticleukemia
AT agnetaanderzencarlsson fearcopingandsupportfromtheperspectiveofchildrenaged1017yearoldhavingacutelymphoblasticleukemia