title: Post-traumatic stress disorder and related factors in parents of children with cancer in South-East of iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) comprises a collection of symptoms following exposure to injury-causing accidents of life. It is estimated that the prevalence of PTSD in children with malignancy and their parents is between 10-30% and even several years after treatment of malignancy this disorderremain in 20-20% of these patients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in parents of children with cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this analytic-descriptive study, 256parents of children with cancer (mean age: 30.06 ± 14.6 years-old) that their children treated in pediatric hematology ward of Ali ebn-e Abitaleb (AS) teaching hospital of Zahedan city (south east of Iran) at 2009-2010 were evaluated. The demographic data and symptoms of PTSD were collected by standard questionnaire (based on DSM-IV). After data analysis was performed using statistical software SPSS (version 18).
  
  
  RESULTS
  All parents who were studied had PTSD. The severity of PTSD in 111 of parents was mild, in 103 (40.2%) moderate and in 42 (16.4%) parents was severe. Furthermore, there were a significant correlation between the severity of PTSD with number of children, age of parents, gender, literacy, religion and economic state (P = 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results showed that factors such as age, sex, number of children, educational state and religion of parents with economic state of the family can effect on the severity of PTSD. As for role of parents of children with chronic disease especially malignancy diseases on decline of psycho-social disorders with mental and physical supports of their children should be given the necessary recommendations and educations regarding PTSD.
authors.affiliation: Children and Adolescent Hygiene Research Center (CAHRC) & Clinical Research Development Center (CRDC), Ali ebn-e Abitaleb (AS) Teaching Hospital, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Majid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Naderi
authors.forename: Mahboubeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Firouzkoohi Moghadam
authors.forename: Mahdiyeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamzenejad
authors.forename: Abolfazl
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Emamdadi
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karami
keywords: Malignant Neoplasm; Parents; Post-traumatic Stress Disorder