Lived experiences of mothers caring for children with thalassemia major in Thailand.
OBJECTIVE
Thalassemic patients must be given continuous treatment throughout their lives due to the physical and psychological effects of their disorder; their families also are impacted. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of 15 mothers of children with thalassemia major by conducting semistructured interviews; the data were analyzed utilizing content analysis.


CONCLUSIONS
Six themes were identified: lack of knowledge about thalassemia, psychosocial problems, concerns for the future, social support systems, financial difficulty, and the effectiveness of healthcare services.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that a holistic, culturally sensitive nursing approach should be considered when caring for children with thalassemia.
Prasomsuk
Suksiri
S
Community Health Department, Siam University, Thailand. suksiri_pr@hotmail.com
Jetsrisuparp
Arunee
A
Ratanasiri
Thawalwong
T
Ratanasiri
Amornrat
A
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support; D013785:Thailand; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000451:nursing*