Parental distress 6 months after a pediatric cancer diagnosis in relation to family psychosocial risk at diagnosis. Issue 2 (13th September 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schepers, Sasja A.; Sint Nicolaas, Simone M.; Maurice‐Stam, Heleen; Haverman, Lotte; Verhaak, Chris M.; Grootenhuis, Martha A.
• Is Part Of: Cancer. Volume 124:Issue 2(2018)
• Page Start: 381
• Page End: 390
• Publication Date: 2017-09-13
• Subjects: distress -- family psychosocial risk -- parents -- pediatric oncology -- screening; Cancer -- Periodicals; Cancer -- Cytopathology -- Periodicals; 616.99405
• DOI: 10.1002/cncr.31023
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0008-543X

Abstract

Abstract : BACKGROUND: This study was aimed at assessing fathers' and mothers' distress 6 months after a pediatric cancer diagnosis and at determining whether this is related to the level of family psychosocial risk 1 month after the diagnosis. METHODS: A sample of 192 families completed the electronic Psychosocial Assessment Tool (ePAT) 1 month after the diagnosis. At 6 months after the diagnosis, 119 mothers and 98 fathers completed the Distress Thermometer for Parents (DT‐P; of which n=132 had also completed the ePAT at baseline). The DT‐P consists of a thermometer score ranging from 0 to 10 (with a score ≥ 4 indicating clinical distress), problem domains (total, practical, social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and parenting for children < 2 years old and for children ≥ 2 years old), and a desire for a referral. The DT‐P scores of mothers and fathers were compared with the scores of a reference group of 671 mothers and 463 fathers with healthy children. Within the pediatric cancer group, the DT‐P scores of families with elevated total ePAT‐scores were compared with the DT‐P scores of parents with universal ePAT scores. RESULTS: Parents of children with cancer more often reported clinical distress on the DT‐P than parents of healthy children (fathers, 59.2% vs 32.3%; P < .001; mothers, 63% vs 42.3%; P < .001) and reported more problems on all DT‐P domains ( P < .001 to P = .042) except for the parenting domain for children < 2 years old. Furthermore, the ePAT predicted parental distress 6 months after the diagnosis because parents with elevated ePAT scores reported more problems than parents with universal scores on the DT‐P thermometer and most of the DT‐P domains ( P < .001 to P = 1.00). CONCLUSIONS: Initial ePAT risk scores at diagnosis are predictive of future mean levels of parental distress. Cancer 2018;124:381‐90 . © 2017 American Cancer Society . Abstract : The current article demonstrates that parents of children with cancer experience significant distress 6 months after the diagnosis, and this is associated with family levels of psychosocial risk 1 month after the diagnosis.