Assessment of psychosocial experiences of parents whose children are undergoing leukemia treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

Background Much has been studied regarding treatment and psycho-pathological symptoms of cancer/leukemia but little has been investigated concerning how fathers and mothers personally experience leukemia treatment of a child (Kohlsdorf and Costa 2012). When the role of parents is identified as a central concern in pediatric treatment, it becomes essential to understand the implications in the social construction and parental responsibility (Kohlsdorf and Costa, 2012). As most research on parents whose children are undergoing leukemia treatment has been conducted in Western countries, little information is available in nonWestern countries, (Haera et al, 2009). In Africa especially in Kenya, little is known on the same. This study assessed the psychosocial experiences of parents whose children were undergoing leukemia treatment in KNH. Methodology This was a cross sectional study. Census of 62 parents and guardians whose children were undergoing leukemia treatment was obtained. Data was collected for ten weeks between May and August 2015. Structured questionnaires were administered then three FGD sessions conducted. Quantitative data was entered in EpiData 3.1database then analyzed using SPSS. A summative index was created by counting number of psychological experiences reported by each respondent. Kruskal Wallis was used in bi-variate analysis to assess how the psychological index varied among social and economic characteristic; a p-value of ≤0.05 was used to indicate statistical significance. Qualitative data from FGD was audio recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed by use of NVIVO. Results Parents whose children were undergoing leukemia treatment had marked psychosocial distress. The majority of parents were between 30-39 years. The older respondents had higher levels of psychological distress index than the younger ones. Study participants came from 20 of the 47 counties while only 22.4 % were living in Nairobi. They experiencing heightened tension at p=0.025, marital strain and stigma. The majority of parents had anxiety. BMA aspiration significantly distressed the parents at p=0.039. Financial constrain was significant p=0.045. Conclusion This study helped shed light in the psychosocial experiences of parents whose children were undergoing leukemia treatment. The stake holders in cancer/leukemia management need to put in place measures for early psychosocial screening and to provide prompt intervention. There is also need to decentralise effective cancer treatment services to the counties to reduce the distance traveled.