Needs and Expectations of Parents Having Children with Cancer from Nurses

Abstract
Background: Parents dealing with childhood cancer face different stressors. The ability of parents to deal with these stressors may depend on the supportive care available to them.
Aim of Study: The current study aimed to determine the needs and expectations of parent of children with cancer from nurses.
Design: A descriptive exploratory research design was utilized for the current study.
Setting: The study was conducted in two pediatric wards in the National Cancer Institute (NCI) affiliated to Cairo University.
Sample: A convenient sample of 260 parents of children with cancer were participated in this study. Data was collected by using structured interview questionnaire sheet which consisted of two parts. Part I included personal data about parents of children with cancer, as well as their children, and medical history of the children. Part II included assessment sheet for needs of the parents (informational, psychosocial, physical, practical, and spiritual) and assessment sheet for expectations of the parents of children with cancer.
Results: The current study revealed that three quarters of parents were mothers accompanying the child to the hospital. The majority of children had leukemia, one third of them was in school age and male gender. There were statistically sig-nificant relation between parent's needs, expectations and their age and marital status. There were no statistical significant relation between parent's needs and their education and working status.
Conclusion: The current study concluded that the highest percentages of parents' needs were focused on informational, psychosocial, physical, practical, and spiritual. Parents have great expectations from nurses as they are the main source of support. In addition parents reported that they have unmet supportive needs from nurses.
Recommendations: The current study recommended that continuous assessment of the information needs of parents of children with cancer can help nurses in providing relevant and specific information according to parents' needs. Design a framework for supportive care needs may be useful in determine the parents' needs for proper planning to provide needs-based care.