The impact of cancer on Hong Kong Chinese children's physical, emotional and psychological well-being

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The diagnosis and treatment of cancer is a stressful and threatening experience, which can be emotionally devastating to children. Despite the improved prognosis, the course of cancer treatment has tremendous impact on children. Therefore, the present study aims to shed light on the impact of cancer on the physical, emotional, and psychosocial well-being of Hong Kong Chinese children, and to discuss how nurses can help ease the burden of cancer treatment for children. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was employed. Hong Kong Chinese children admitted for treatment of cancer in two paediatric oncology units of two different regional acute public hospitals were invited to participate in the study. A total of 98 children were recruited during a 10-month period in 2008. Participants were asked to respond to the Chinese version of the State Anxiety Scale and the short version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale during hospitalization. Besides, a brief semi-structured interview was conducted with each participant before discharge home. RESULTS: Results from this study indicate that children scored considerably high state anxiety on admission and more than half of the participants presented some depressive symptoms during the stay in hospital. Moreover, semi-structured interviews indicated that nearly all children expressed different degrees of sadness, unhappiness and worry. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: This study has addressed a gap in the literature by examining the impact of cancer on the physical, emotional and psychosocial well-being of Hong Kong Chinese children. The study has found some commonalities of experience in children with cancer in both the Western and Hong Kong Chinese context. Regardless of sex, age or type of cancer, this study reveals that cancer has tremendous impact on children's physical, emotional and psychosocial wellbeing. There is an imperative need for nurses to evaluate appropriate nursing interventions that can help children resume their normal growth and development, in particular to help them ease the physical, emotional and psychological burden of life-threatening disease.