title: Professional caregivers' perceptions of providing information to parents of children with cancer.
abstract: Information has been described as a critical part of the care for parents of children with cancer, but not much is known about how caregivers makes decisions about informing parents. This study aims to illuminate professional caregivers' perceptions of providing information to parents of children with cancer. Twenty caregivers at a Swedish pediatric oncology ward participated in four focus group interviews. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to qualitative content analysis. Two themes were found: Matching the amount of information to the parents' needs concerned situations where the amount of information provided according to the caregivers' assessment is deemed too small, appropriate, or too large. Navigating through a vague structure dealt with a disrupted setting, unclear responsibilities within the team, difficult timing, unintelligible information, and underused tools for communication. Implications for intervention development are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. anders.ringner@nurs.umu.se
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ringnér
authors.forename: Lilian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jansson
authors.forename: Ulla H
authors.initials: UH
authors.lastname: Graneheim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003142:Communication; D022143:Family Nursing / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010465:Perception; D011209:Power, Psychological; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012944:Social Support