The Lived Experience of Inpatient Education Among Parents with Children Newly Diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)

Chua, Jesusa

Tuesday, 1 November 2011: 10:00 AM

Jesusa Chua, MS, RN-BC
Care Area 2, Phoenix Childrens Hospital, Phoenix, AZ

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to state the themes related to the experience of inpatient education among parents whose children are newly diagnosed with ALL

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to explain the significance of these findings to the current practice of patient education, and future patient/family-education-research.

A new diagnosis of cancer in a child can become the most challenging event in a parent’s life. The multi-faceted therapies, as well as the prospect of complicated home care can add more stress into a parent’s already trying experience; making the task of inpatient discharge education tricky. Little is known about the lived experience of inpatient education among parents of children with a new oncology diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to explore this experience using a phenomenological approach. Seven semi-structured interviews were held with parents of children newly diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) within the past three months. Colaizzi’s method of data analysis was used to identify recurring themes from the data gathered.

Seven themes depicted the lived experience of patient education among parents with children suffering from a new diagnosis of ALL: (1) the maze of symptoms and consults, (2) fear and ambivalence about the diagnosis, (3) overwhelming emotion, (4) a recollection of past experiences, (5) learning begins, (6) different strokes - same bottom line, and the (7) dilemmas of discharge. The stated results provide a better understanding of a parent’s experience with inpatient education following a new diagnosis of cancer in their child. Such knowledge will help nursing and other health professionals in the design and delivery of patient education materials better suited for this specific population. These results may also serve as a springboard for future study and experimentation on the field of oncology-related parent education.

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