Vulnerability situations of adolescents and young people from rural areas undergoing cancer treatment.
Fernanda Duarte Siqueira, Graciela Dutra Sehnem, Nara Marilene Oliveira Girardon-Perlini and 4 others
PMID 39945464WHAT IT FOUND
Rural adolescents and young people with cancer described shock and confusion at diagnosis, lost friendships, stopped school, work and leisure, and found travel for treatment exhausting.
Distance to care could make them want to stop treatment.
Key findings
01At diagnosis, participants described fear, confusion, and not knowing that leukemia was cancer.
02After diagnosis, friends distanced themselves, and treatment forced participants to stop usual activities, work, and leisure.
03Long distance to treatment was tiring and could make participants want to stop treatment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was qualitative and descriptive. It reports themes and experiences, not effects or tested interventions. It was done in one oncology department in one region of Brazil, with a small sample of 11 adolescents and 4 young people. Other rural settings and patients may differ. Only people clinically able to participate were included. Those too unwell to speak may be missing. Data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel, school, social contact, and health services may have been affected. The analysis did not test whether listening spaces or nurse assessment improve care.
Declared interests
The supplied text reports financial support from CAPES, Finance Code 001.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that listening spaces or nurse assessment improve treatment. This study describes patients' experiences, not tested interventions.