title: Crisis intervention strategies when caring for families of children with cancer.
abstract: A diagnosis of childhood cancer is an unexpected life event that often precipitates a situational crisis for all family members. Required cancer treatments and other ongoing stressors for both child and family will significantly disrupt the family's equilibrium and well-being. An increasingly important role of the pediatric oncology nurse is to facilitate crisis intervention strategies that help families adjust to the psychosocial stresses associated with childhood cancer, yet many nurses have little or no training in crisis theory and/or crisis intervention strategies. This article reviews family crisis theories and outlines crisis intervention strategies that are appropriate for the family of a child with cancer.
authors.affiliation: Jewish Hospital College of Nursing and Allied Health, Washington University Medical Center, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Hendricks-Ferguson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003419:Crisis Intervention / Q000379:methods*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D011368:Professional-Family Relations