Challenges of Parents While Providing Complex Medical Care at Home to Children With Cancer: A Cross-Sectional Convergent Mixed Methods Study.
Rachel Klausner Shyman, Sveta Roberman, Gal Goldstein and 3 others
PMID 41014003WHAT IT FOUND
Parents providing complex cancer care at home reported difficulty managing many medicines, symptoms, central lines, emergencies and off-hours access to staff.
Challenges were similar for newer and more experienced parents.
Key findings
01Parents reported a mean of 3.3 symptoms, with a range of 0 to 6, and 28 of 32 said children had at least two symptoms at once.
02All children had a central venous catheter, and 30 of 32 parents said it limited daily activities, especially bathing and dressing.
0318 of 32 parents were not confident monitoring for signs needing immediate attention, and 9 of 32 reported difficulty reaching healthcare professionals after clinic hours.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was done at one university-based cancer centre and used a purposive sample of 32 parents, so it may not represent all families. The design was cross-sectional, so it cannot show how parental challenges change over the full treatment trajectory. The study did not test an intervention, so it cannot show whether education or support changes outcomes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that parent education or home-care support reduced complications. The study describes parent-reported challenges at one centre and tested no intervention. It also found no clear difference in symptom or medication burden between parents whose children were diagnosed within six months and those diagnosed more than six months.