Pediatric oncology patients' anxiety and life quality: Parent and child perspectives

This study aimed to investigate the anxiety level of children with oncological problems, to examine the perceived quality of life by both children and to evaluate potential correlations between these variables. The research was carried out between March 2022 and April 2023, with a child aged 7-12 years old who was hospitalized in Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Medical Faculty Hospital Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clinic and treated in the Polyclinic, and their parents. The study population consisted of 158 registered oncology patient children and their parents in this hospital, while the sample was completed with 124 children who met the inclusion criteria. The research data were collected through the ''Child Identification Form'', ''Parent Identification Form'', ''7-12 Years Pediatric Oncology Patients Quality of Life Scale Child Form'', ''7-12 Years Pediatric Oncology Patients Quality of Life Scale Parent Form'' and Child Anxiety Sensitivity Index. The data obtained were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics Standard Concurrent User V 26 statistical package program. Percentage, average, min-max. values, standart deviation, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis H test, Spearman correlation coefficient were used to evaluate the data. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. The study included children with a median age of 9.30±1.65 years, among whom 72.6% were diagnosed with ALL. The average score for the quality of life scale completed by children was 106.34±27.15 points, while the average score for the quality of life scale completed by parents was 111.94±22.85 points. Additionally, the mean score for the QoL scale was found to be 37.53±7.30 points. The statistical analysis revealed significant differences in the variables of gender, school attendance, and family type concerning the Quality of Life (child form), as well as in the variables of the duration of the child's diagnosis and parental spouse's educational status regarding the Quality of Life (parent form) and the CASI (with a p-value of less than 0.05). The study revealed a negative correlation between age and social class with quality of life (parent form) and CASI, while a positive correlation was found between quality of life (child form). Additionally, there was a negative correlation between parental and partner age with CASI. The results of the study revealed a negative correlation between the quality of life (child form) and the quality of life (parent form), as well as the Child Anxiety and Stress Scale (CASI). However, a positive correlation was found between the quality of life (child form) and CASI in children with oncological problems. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that anxiety level and quality of life, as well as child-parent perspective variables, had a different effect on children with oncological problems. Consequently, it is recommended that pediatric nurses should implement interventions that enhance patients' quality of life and alleviate their anxiety levels.