A phenomenologic study of fatigue in adolescents receiving treatment for cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To generate a detailed description of how adolescents with cancer manage their daily lives and the way in which fatigue affects this.


METHODS
Phenomenologic.


METHODS
A pediatric oncology unit at a regional cancer center in the United Kingdom.


METHODS
A convenience sample of adolescents (N = 8), aged 16-19 years and with hematologic or solid tumors, who currently were undergoing primary treatment.


METHODS
Semistructured interviews were conducted using 11 open-ended questions.


METHODS
Adolescents' perceptions of fatigue, well-being, and ability to maintain normal activities.


RESULTS
Adolescents reported fatigue as overwhelming and embedded in a syndrome of symptoms and emotions associated with the illness itself and with treatment. Fatigue had a significant effect on physical, psychological, and social well-being, placing an extra burden on adolescents who were striving for normality.


CONCLUSIONS
Equipped with a rich description of fatigue, clinicians will be better prepared to initiate strategies congruent with their own work settings and particular patients.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings should enable healthcare professionals to construct a more accurate and perceptive picture of the needs of particular individuals, highlighting those that may be amenable to intervention.
Gibson
Faith
F
Children's Nursing Research Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, United Kingdom. gibsof@gosh.nhs.uk
Mulhall
Anne B
AB
Richardson
Allison
A
Edwards
Jacqueline L
JL
Ream
Emma
E
Sepion
Beth J
BJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy*; D012107:Research Design; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires