Applicability of the Integrative framework of stress and coping to the experiences of mothers of children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the developing world

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Date
2017-11
Authors
Nel, Lerie Rissa
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University of the Free State
Abstract
English: The diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in children is a distressing experience that has been associated with caregiver strain and decreased parental well-being. A large proportion of mothers caring for children receiving treatment for ALL live in low-and middle-income countries. The contextual challenges these individuals face, as well as the specific coping strategies they employ have received scant research attention. Similarly, no attempt appears to have been made to apply existing theoretical perspectives on stress and coping to the understanding of these women’s experiences. Consequently, the current study aimed to explore the applicability of an Integrative Framework of Stress and Coping (IFSC) within the context of mothers caring for a child undergoing maintenance treatment for ALL in a developing country. A multiple case study design was employed, and six participants were recruited from the database of a paediatric oncology unit at a large academic hospital. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the mothers and deductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results suggest that mothers in the current study experienced significant contextual (environmental) challenges in the form of cultural power imbalances and socioeconomic difficulties. Dispositional factors, together with participants’ historical backgrounds, appeared to influence their appraisals of the diagnosis and disease trajectory which, in turn, impacted their ability to effectively cope as caregivers. Passive coping seemed a customary stress response for these women that did little in terms of promoting their well-being. In general, participants seemed to predominantly experience poor psychological health. Findings from this study suggest that the IFSC holds utility for the conceptualisation of both individual components and integrative processes influencing maternal coping with paediatric cancer in a developing world context.
Afrikaans: Die diagnose van akute limfoblastiese leukemie (ALL) in kinders is 'n ontstellende ervaring wat verband hou met versorgerspanning en ʼn afname in ouerlike welsyn. 'n Groot deel van moeders wat sorg vir kinders wat onderhoudsbehandeling ontvang vir ALL, woon in lae- en middelinkomste gebiede. Die kontekstuele uitdagings wat hierdie individue in die gesig staar, sowel as die spesifieke hanteringstrategieë waaroor hulle beskik, is nog nie nagevors nie. Net so is daar tot dusver geen poging aangewend om bestaande teoretiese perspektiewe op stres en die hantering daarvan toe te pas op die begrip van hierdie vroue se ervarings nie. Gevolglik het die huidige studie daarop gemik om die toepaslikheid van 'n Integrerende Raamwerk van Stres en Hantering (IFSC) te ondersoek binne die konteks van moeders wat sorg vir 'n kind wat onderhoudsbehandeling vir ALL in 'n ontwikkelende gebied ondergaan. ʼn Meervoudige gevallestudie-ontwerp is toegepas en ses deelnemers is gewerf uit die databasis van 'n pediatriese onkologie-eenheid by 'n groot akademiese hospitaal. Semigestruktureerde onderhoude is met die moeders gedoen en deduktiewe tematiese analise is gebruik om die data te analiseer. Resultate dui daarop dat moeders in die huidige studie aansienlike kontekstuele (omgewings) uitdagings ervaar het in die vorm van kulturelemagswanbalanse en sosio-ekonomiese probleme. Wisselvallige faktore, tesame met die historiese agtergrond van deelnemers, het hul evaluasies van die diagnose en siektetrajek beïnvloed wat op hul beurt hul vermoë om as versorgers effektief te hanteer, beïnvloed het. Passiewe hantering was 'n gewoontestresreaksie vir hierdie vroue wat min gedoen het ten opsigte van die bevordering van hul welsyn. Oor die algemeen blyk dit dat deelnemers swak sielkundige gesondheid ervaar. Bevindinge van hierdie studie stelvoor dat die IFSC nuttig is vir die konseptualisering van beide die individuele komponente en integrerende prosesse wat die moederlike hantering van pediatriese kanker in 'n ontwikkelende wêreldkonteks beïnvloed.
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Keywords
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), Paediatric cancer, Maternal coping, Integrative framework of stress and coping, Thematic analysis, Developing world, Psychooncology, Dissertation (M.A. (Psychology))--University of the Free State, 2017
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