Parental handling of fear in children with cancer; caring in the best interests of the child.
The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how parents of children with cancer handle the fear in their children. Fifteen parents of 11 children participated in focus-group interviews. Data were analyzed by a phenomenological hermeneutical method. The results suggest that the parents' handling was equivalent with caring in the best interests of the child. This included striving for the security and well-being of the child up to a certain point where the parents instead used their authority to maintain the child's physical health rather than trying to prevent or relieve the child's fear.
Anderzén-Carlsson
Agneta
A
Centre for Health Care Sciences, Orebro University Hospital, P.O. Box 1324, Orebro, Sweden. agneta.anderzen-carlsson@hi.oru.se
Kihlgren
Mona
M
Svantesson
Mia
M
Sorlie
Venke
V
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004645:Empathy; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013548:Sweden