The effect of mandala art and value clarification based on watson human care theory on the anxiety and emotional state of parents of children diagnosed with cancer

Objective: The aim of the study is to determine the effect of mandala art and value clarification practice based on Watson Human Care Theory on the anxiety and emotional state of parents of children diagnosed with cancer and the experiences of parents through interviews and mandala interpretation. Method: The research was conducted with research methods consisting of a randomized controlled trial and a qualitative study with the parents of children diagnosed with cancer in Akdeniz University Hospital Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clinic. The sample of the study is three groups; It consisted of a total of 75 people as mandala group (n:25), value clarification group (n:25) and control group (n:25). ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT05907070. Mandala group participated in 2 sessions of individual mandala art therapy accompanied by music. Value clarification group participated in the value clarification activity in 2 sessions of individual writing accompanied by music. In the qualitative study, the participant interpreted the colors and shapes of the mandala he drew in the second session and an interview was conducted with a semi-structured form. In the quantitative study, a Personal Information Form, State Anxiety Scale and Positive-Negative Emotion Scale were applied to the both groups before the first session and after the second session for pre-test and post-test data. Results: Both scale scores of the intervention 1 group decreased significantly compared to the intervention 2 and control groups (p <0.05). Both scale scores of the intervention 2 group decreased significantly compared to the control group (p <0.05). In the qualitative part, two main themes (a) Reflections on the Parent's Life, (b) Coping Resources and five sub-themes were identified. Conclusion: Mandala art therapy was found to be more effective in increasing positive emotions and reducing negative emotions and anxiety levels than value clarification. It has been determined that although childhood cancer has negative effects on parents' lives, they have various coping resources. Key words: cancer, child, mandala, parent, pediatric nursing, value clarification