CAREGIVER STRESS, COPING STRATEGIES AND SUPPORT NEEDS OF MOTHERS CARING FOR THEIR CHILDREN WHO ARE UNDERGOING ACTIVE CANCER TREATMENT

Abstract

Background: The diagnosis of childhood cancer not only affects the life of the child, but impacts the lives of the parents as well. Current literature often evaluates parental experiences as a collective unit but is limited on specific maternal experiences and emotional impacts. As fathers and mothers would have different perceptions and coping strategies, there is a need for a deeper understanding on mothers as caregivers’ needs and experiences. Aims: To explore the caregiver stress and coping strategies of mothers caring for their children undergoing active cancer treatment, and to identify their support needs. Methods: A descriptive qualitative design was used. Ten mothers of children with cancer were interviewed from a tertiary hospital in Singapore. The transcribed verbatim data were analysed by thematic analysis. Results: Four themes and nine subthemes emerged from this study. The first theme, emotional ‘roller coaster’, described mothers’ initial negative emotions before coming to a stage of acceptance. The second theme, the demanding mother’s role, elaborated on the increased responsibilities in the mother’s role and adjustments in the mother-and-child relationship. The third theme, secondary stressors from the child’s cancer, captured gaps in the support resources for mothers. Lastly, the fourth theme is the perceived support resources available. Conclusion: The themes highlighted the different myriad of feelings and challenges mothers face since the diagnosis of their children’s cancer that could be due to the lack of or overwhelming information, changes in the relationship with the child and perceived available social support. Hence, more attention can be given to the psychological wellbeing of mothers during the child’s treatment. Healthcare providers should improve on current support resources to alleviate mothers’ stress levels, such as with in-depth informational booklets in layman terms, practical caregiver training, or parent support groups.