Paving the Way to Promote Resilience in Children With Cancer and Their Families to Overcome Stress and Adversity

Effects of Spiritual Well-Being on Caregiver Burden of Parents of Children with Tracheostomy in Türkiye: The Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience

This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of psychological resilience in examining the effects of spiritual well-being on the caregiver burden of parents of children with tracheostomy. This descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational study was conducted with 109 parents of children with tracheostomy. The three-factor spiritual well-being scale, the caregiver burden scale for family caregivers, and the brief resilience scale were used for data collection. The study adhered to the strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology guidelines. Descriptive statistics, t tests, variance analysis, and relationship analysis were used in the data analysis. A significant, negative, and moderate relationship exists between the caregiver burden and the brief resilience scale (p < 0.05). There is a negative relationship between the anomie sub-dimension of the spiritual well-being scale and caregiver burden, and a positive and moderate relationship with resilience (p < 0.05). Psychological resilience affects caregiver burden via the anomie subscale. Programs can be developed to alleviate the caregiving burden and enhance the spiritual well-being of parents with children who have tracheostomies, taking into account the importance of psychological resilience.

The Effects of Psychological Interventions on Fostering Resilience in Family Members of Pediatric Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Interventions to foster resilience may promote mental health recovery after exposure to stressors. However, comprehensive systematic syntheses of such evidence in family members of pediatric cancer patients are lacking.

OBJECTIVE

To systematically review and meta-analyze the evidence for the effects of psychological interventions at fostering resilience in family members of pediatric cancer patients.

METHODS

PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and 9 other databases were searched for articles published until March 2023. Empirical studies on psychological interventions to improve resilience in family members of pediatric cancer patients were included. Full-text and quality appraisals were performed independently by 2 reviewers. Pooled effect sizes were calculated using random-effects meta-analyses.

RESULTS

Seventeen studies were included, of which 10 were included in the meta-analyses. There was a positive effect of interventions on resilience at postintervention time points, but no effects on depressive symptoms, stress, or well-being. The improvement in resilience was sustained in the short term (≤3 months) and medium term (>3 to ≤6 months), with delayed effects on depressive symptoms and stress. In the 6 studies that reported moderate effect sizes, the interventions comprised problem-solving skills, cognitive strategies, promotion of personal strength, and social resources.

CONCLUSION

The findings indicated that psychological interventions targeting resilience have the potential to positively affect the resilience and mental health outcomes of family members, particularly parents.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Psychological interventions targeting resilience hold promise in improving the mental health of family members. Future interventions should clearly specify the characteristics of the intervention, such as mode of delivery, format, and duration.

The effect of psychological resilience and spiritual well-being on the experience of hope in parents of children with cancer

PURPOSE

Hope in pediatric oncology guides parents as an inner guidance compass through their child's challenging journey toward cancer treatment. This study was designed to examine the effects of psychological resilience, spiritual well-being, and some child- and parent-related factors on parents' experience of hope while their child is undergoing cancer treatment.

DESIGN AND METHODS

This cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted between March and July 2022 in the pediatric oncology-hematology ward of a university hospital in Turkey. Parents of 120 children with cancer were included in the study. Data were collected using the child and parent questionnaire, Herth Hope Index, Connor-Davidson Resilience Short Form, and Spiritual Well-Being Scale. Correlation and multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyze the data. In addition, the content analysis method was used to analyze the open-ended structured questions. Ethical approval was obtained for the study.

RESULTS

In the study, 57.5% of the parents who participated were mothers. The mean age of the children was 9.46 ± 5.00 years. 30.8% of the children were diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, and the mean duration of treatment was 20.42 ± 13.75 months. According to multiple linear regression analysis, child gender (β = -0.16), number of children (β = -0.16), cancer diagnosis (β = -0.24), resilience (β =0.31), and parental spiritual well-being (β =0.40) were the determinant factors affecting parents' experiences of hope. All these predictors explained 55% of the change in parents' hope levels. In addition, two main themes (increasing and decreasing factors) were identified regarding parents' experiences of hope.

CONCLUSIONS

Insights from this study have the potential to shape interventions specifically designed to maintain parents' hope throughout their child's cancer treatment journey.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

This study may provide insights for the design of intervention programs in pediatric oncology hematology wards aimed at strengthening the hope and improving coping mechanisms of parents with children coping with cancer.

The Association of Resilience with Way of Coping, Psychological Well-Being and Quality of Life in Parents of Children with Cancer

Evidence shows that resilience is crucial to maintain psychological well-being and quality of life in the face of stress and adversity. However, the relationships between resilience and psychological well-being and factors associated with quality of life in Hong Kong Chinese parents of children with cancer are underexplored. This study aimed to examine the interrelationships among resilience, ways of coping, psychological well-being, and quality of life among Chinese parents of children with cancer, and identify factors associated with their quality of life. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 119 Chinese parents of children with cancer at the Hong Kong Children's Hospital between January 2020 and March 2022. Parents' resilience level, ways of coping, depressive symptoms, state anxiety scores, perceived social support, and quality of life were assessed. Participating parents (n = 119) included 98 mothers (82.4%) and 11 parents were from single-parent families (9.2%). Almost half (47.9%) of the parents were potentially at risk for depression. The results showed that participants from single-parent families reported statistically significantly lower levels of resilience (p < 0.001), more depressive symptoms (p < 0.001), and poorer quality of life (p < 0.001) than those who lived with their partners (married). In addition, parents who adopted problem-focused coping strategies reported statistically significantly higher levels of resilience (p < 0.001), fewer depressive symptoms (p < 0.001), and better quality of life (p < 0.001) than those who adopted emotion-focused coping strategies. A multiple regression analysis revealed that resilience (p < 0.001) was associated with quality of life among parents of children with cancer. This study provides further support that resilience is an important factor associated with quality of life in parents of children with cancer. Assessing resilience in parents is an important prerequisite for designing appropriate interventions to increase their resilience and enhance their quality of life.