Symptoms and Self-Management Strategies Identified by Children With Cancer Using Draw-and-Tell Interviews.
Lauri A Linder, Heather Bratton, Anna Nguyen and 2 others
PMID 29683122WHAT IT FOUND
Children with cancer reported 26 physical and 11 psychosocial symptoms through drawings and talk.
Twenty-two also described 21 ways they managed them, including rest, comfort, distractions, and medication routines.
Key findings
01The children reported a total of 26 physical symptoms and 11 psychosocial symptoms, with a median of 4 symptoms each.
02Sadness was the most frequently reported psychosocial symptom, depicted by 22 children.
03Twenty-two children reported 21 self-management strategies; lying down and resting was the most frequent strategy, reported by 11 children.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study included only 27 English-speaking children from one hospital, and children with major cognitive developmental disabilities were excluded. Children recalled days when they felt well and sick instead of reporting symptoms at that moment. The study did not ask children to link strategies to specific symptoms, so it cannot show which strategy helped which symptom. The children had different cancer diagnoses and treatment stages, so the findings may not apply to every child with cancer. Self-management strategies were not prompted, so other children may have reported more if asked.
Declared interests
The article is listed as supported by an NIH extramural grant. The supplied text does not include an author conflict-of-interest declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that draw-and-tell interviews improve symptom assessment or outcomes. The study described 27 children's reports and strategies. It did not test the method or show that the strategies worked. It also did not ask children to match strategies to specific symptoms, so it cannot say which strategy helped which symptom.