Quality of life and family functioning soon after paediatric brain tumour diagnosis: A cross-sectional observational study
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Description
<p>Purpose: There is scant scholarly exploration of quality of life in families with a child who has a brain tumour early after diagnosis, despite this being a pivotal point in their illness trajectory. We aimed to describe quality of life in children and their parents, and family functioning, within six months of diagnosis; and to examine if this differed for various subpopulations. Method: This is a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data of an ongoing longitudinal survey. Parents/carers of a child who had a diagnosis of a malignant or non-malignant brain tumour and were receiving care at the Queensland Children's Hospital were invited to complete an electronic survey. Univariate analyses were conducted with potential covariates and each dependent variable (child quality of life, caregiver quality of life, family functioning). Potential relationships between the outcome variables were explored through Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: Seventy-nine diverse families completed the survey between August 2020 and September 2022. Caregiver quality of life did not differ by the child's tumour risk grade. It was lowest for those with a child who had undergone chemotherapy and/or radiation compared to surgery only, and for those with a child who had been diagnosed 6 months prior to survey completion compared to more recent diagnoses. A third of families reported problematic family functioning. Lower levels of problematic family functioning were associated with higher caregiver quality of life (r = -.49, p < .001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest caregivers need greater psychosocial support early after diagnosis, and supports the need for family-centred care that fosters communication and cohesiveness.</p>
Impact and interest:
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ID Code: | 244917 | ||||||
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Item Type: | Contribution to Journal (Journal Article) | ||||||
Refereed: | Yes | ||||||
ORCID iD: |
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Additional Information: | Funding Information: This work was supported by The Children's Hospital Foundation as part of the state-wide, multi-institutional Centre for Child and Adolescent Brain Cancer (2019). Natalie Bradford is supported by an Investigator Grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council Australia (ID: APP1174733 ). | ||||||
Measurements or Duration: | 6 pages | ||||||
Keywords: | Brain neoplasm, Family functioning, Pediatrics, Quality of life, Survey | ||||||
DOI: | 10.1016/j.ejon.2023.102463 | ||||||
ISSN: | 1462-3889 | ||||||
Pure ID: | 151517230 | ||||||
Divisions: | Current > Research Centres > Centre for Healthcare Transformation Current > Research Centres > Cancer and Palliative Care Outcomes Centre Current > QUT Faculties and Divisions > Faculty of Health Current > Schools > School of Nursing Current > Schools > School of Psychology & Counselling |
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Funding Information: | This work was supported by The Children's Hospital Foundation as part of the state-wide, multi-institutional Centre for Child and Adolescent Brain Cancer (2019). Natalie Bradford is supported by an Investigator Grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council Australia (ID: APP1174733 ). | ||||||
Funding: | |||||||
Copyright Owner: | Crown 2023 | ||||||
Copyright Statement: | This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under a Creative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use and that permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the document is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then refer to the Licence for details of permitted re-use. It is a condition of access that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. If you believe that this work infringes copyright please provide details by email to qut.copyright@qut.edu.au | ||||||
Deposited On: | 01 Dec 2023 03:36 | ||||||
Last Modified: | 19 Jul 2024 23:56 |
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