title: Perceptions of School Among Childhood Cancer Survivors: A Comparison With Peers.
abstract: The aim was to investigate how childhood cancer survivors perceive school and whether their perceptions differ from corresponding descriptions of peers. Survivors (n = 48) currently attending educational institutions (median 5 years post diagnosis; now aged 12-21 years) from a national cohort of school-age children were compared with matched peers (n = 47). Data were collected through interviews and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The results indicate that survivors and peers perceive school similarly; almost 90% described high well-being in school and indicated that they were motivated and received no additional tutoring; approximately 60% reported no difficulties achieving learning objectives. A few differences were found; survivors described themselves as more satisfied with their academic performance and school environment, but less satisfied with friends, than peers did. Previous treatment with radiation was associated with lower academic satisfaction among survivors. It is suggested that survivors perceive school overall as positive and do not have more problems reaching educational goals than their peers. However, quality of relationships with friends needs further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nursing, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences, and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden jeanette.winterling@ki.se.
authors.forename: Jeanette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Winterling
authors.affiliation: Division of Nursing, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences, and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jervaeus
authors.affiliation: Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, and Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Margareta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Af Sandeberg
authors.affiliation: Division of Nursing, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences, and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.affiliation: Division of Nursing, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences, and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wettergren
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D010379:Peer Group; D012919:Social Behavior; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: adolescents; childhood cancer; school; young adults