Digital Stories Created by Children With Advanced Cancer.
Morgan L Whitlow, Mary Jo Gilmer, Mary S Dietrich and 2 others
PMID 39257031WHAT IT FOUND
Children with advanced cancer filled digital legacy stories with people, places, everyday activities, and feelings.
Cancer also appeared as a theme, even without direct questions, suggesting they may be willing to share.
Key findings
01Six major themes emerged from the stories: entry medium, people, places, references to cancer, objects, things, and activities, and expressions of emotions and beliefs.
02People were the most frequently referenced content, including self, friends, family, and nonfamily adults.
03Cancer-related content was a major theme, and other references to cancer was the most frequently used code within that category.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This is a content analysis of 78 stories, not a report of the parent trial outcomes, so it cannot show that digital legacy stories improved child quality of life, coping, or communication. The stories came from children aged 7 to 17 years with relapsed or refractory cancer at a single site, so the content may not transfer to younger or older children, new diagnosis, or other settings. The sample lacked racial diversity and was mostly English-speaking, limiting generalizability. Guiding legacy questions and categories in the website likely biased what children included. Early technical problems with the web program, such as difficulty uploading movies, may have affected the types of media used. Only 78 stories were analysed while the parent trial enrolled 150 children, and the supplied text does not explain how the analysed stories relate to all enrolled participants.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The supplied publication types list NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that digital legacy stories improve child quality of life, coping, or communication. It analysed the content of 78 stories and reports themes, not trial outcomes.