Evaluation of the effectiveness of the family-centered empowerment program applied to the parents of children with oncological problems: A randomized controlled study

The research was carried out as a parallel-group, randomized controlled, single-blind experiment to determine the effect of the web-based education program WBEP) based on the family-centered empowerment model (FCEM) applied to the parents of children with oncological problems. In the first phase of the study, the language adaptation, validity, and reliability study of the Turkish version of the "Scale for the Assessment of the Care Ability of Family Caregivers of Cancer Patients (CAFCCP)" was conducted with 527 parents between January 2021 and December 2021. The second phase, in which the effect of WBEP based on FCEM was evaluated, was carried out in Ondokuz Mayıs University Pediatric Hematology Oncology Clinic between May 2022 and November 2022. A total of 76 parents (38 interventions and 38 controls) determined by block randomization formed the sample of the study. The data of the research; ıt was collected using the Parent-Child Information Form, CAFCCP, General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DAS). The quality of the content of the developed website was evaluated by 13 experts using the DISCERN measurement tool. Its usability was evaluated by the parents in the intervention group using the WAMMI measurement tool. In the data analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed for the scale's construct validity, the fit indices were examined, and convergent and divergent validity analyses were performed. Cronbach's alpha coefficient, item-total correlation coefficient, test-retest Pearson correlation coefficient and dependent t-test were used regarding the reliability of the scale. In the second stage, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to determine the normal distribution. In addition, Pearson chi-square and Fisher Exact chi-square were used to evaluate the homogeneous distribution of the groups, and independent samples t-test was used for the difference between the two group means The data were evaluated in SPSS 26.0 and LISREL 8.80 package programs. The significance level was accepted as 0.05. It was determined that the parents in the intervention and control groups were statistically similar in terms of their introductory characteristics (p>0.05). In the first stage, the findings related to validity, reliability, and item analysis revealed valid and reliable results to measure the caring abilities of family members who care for individuals with oncological problems. In the second stage, it was determined that the mean scores of the parents in the second measurement (T2) and the third measurement (T3) CAFCCP, and GSES increased after the intervention, and their T2 and T3 scores in RBSS and DAÖ decreased. When the comparison was made between the groups, it was found that this difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusion; FCEM-based WBEP is an effective method in improving the care skills of parents of children with oncological problems, increasing self-efficacy and self-esteem, and reducing depression, anxiety, and stress levels. To empower parents, it is recommended to evaluate their care abilities and to provide FCEM-based training in line with their needs.