Communication in Paediatric Oncology: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Perspectives of Nurses and Parents of Children With Cancer.
Reza Saidi, Haydeh Heidari
PMID 41255206WHAT IT FOUND
Parents of children with cancer in Iran described gaps in understanding care and coping with their child's spiritual questions about death.
Nurses reported needing specific training to address these spiritual crises and provide holistic support, as current education lacked this focus.
Key findings
01Parents reported insufficient information about home care and prognosis, causing anxiety, while nurses lacked specific training to manage children's spiritual questions about death and illness.
02Effective communication was identified as essential for building trust and enabling parents to cope, particularly through empathy and addressing spiritual needs alongside medical facts.
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 conducted in a single hospital unit in Iran, so findings may not apply to other cultural or healthcare systems. Only nurses and parents were interviewed; perspectives of children, siblings, and other healthcare professionals were not included. Language barriers may have affected the interpretation of local expressions during translation from Persian to English.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this as evidence that a specific communication intervention improves patient outcomes. The study describes perceived needs and challenges in a specific cultural context, not the effectiveness of any particular strategy.