Highlights
- •Cancer is a challenging experience for children and families.
- •Mothers and adolescents struggle to cope with the emotions evoked by cancer.
- •Mothers lack awareness of their adolescent's unmet needs.
- •Mothers need more skills and support to meet their adolescents' needs.
Abstract
Purpose
This article is a secondary data analysis which explores maternal unmet needs and
their perception of the ‘unmet needs’ of adolescent children when they experienced
maternal cancer. The analysis is underpinned by the theoretical framework of the Offspring
Cancer Needs Instrument OCNI, (Patterson et al., 2013).
Method
A secondary data analysis was carried out with ten maternal interviews analyzed using
a deductive Thematic Analysis. This was to identify maternal unmet needs as well as
their perceptions of their adolescent children's unmet needs and determine whether
the OCNI framework was suitable to identify unmet needs of mothers and adolescent
children in an Irish context.
Results
The study found cancer is a challenging emotional burden for both mothers and their
adolescent children. Emotions related to cancer recurrence were particularly difficult
to deal with. Mothers struggle to identify the unmet needs of adolescent children
and recognize that they lack the skills to approach the children, which adds to the
burden of their illness burden and feelings of guilt.
Conclusions
The study highlights the need to provide safe spaces for patients and adolescent children
to deal with their emotions, strengthen relationships and improve communication associated
with maternal cancer as these have a significant impact in their lives and may lead
to tension and conflict within families.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to European Journal of Oncology NursingAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- The impact of motherhood on perceived stress, illness intrusiveness and fear of cancer recurrence in young breast cancer survivors over time.Psychol. Health. 2014; 29: 651-670https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2014.881998
- Using thematic analysis in psychology.Qual. Res. Psychol. 2006; 3: 77-101https://doi.org/10.1191/14780-88706qp063oa
- The experience of motherhood during cancer treatment.Piscol. Estudo. 2018; 23: 1-16https://doi.org/10.4025/psicolestud.v23.e39559
- Psychosocial consequences in offspring of women with breast cancer.Psycho Oncol. 2019; : 1-8https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5294
- When mom or dad has cancer: markers of psychological distress in cancer patients, spouses, and children.Health Psychol. 1994; 13: 507-515https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.13.6.507
- Secondary analysis of data.J. Pediatr. Health Care. 2005; 19: 60-63https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedhc.2004.10.003
- Adolescent coping with mom's breast cancer: developing family intervention programmes.J. Marital Fam. Ther. 2005; 31: 247-258https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2005.tb01558.x
- Supporting children facing a parent's cancer diagnosis: a systematic review of children's psychosocial needs and existing interventions.Eur. J. Cancer Care. 2017; 26: 1-22https://doi.org/10.1111/ecc.12432
- Experiences of ‘‘openness’’ between mothers and daughters during breast cancer: implications for coping and healthy outcomes.Psycho Oncol. 2016; 26: 1872-1880https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.4253
- When mom's sick: changes in a mother's role and in the family after her diagnosis of cancer.Cancer Nurs. 1999; 22 (pmid: 9990759): 58-63
- Chinese children's experience when the mother has breast cancer.Cancer Nurs. 2020; 43: 158-166https://doi.org/10.1097/NCC.00000000000000695
- Adolescent experience with parental cancer and involvement with medical professionals: a heuristic phenomenological inquiry.J. Adolesc. Res. 2021; : 1-28https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558420985446
- To disclose or not to disclose? Communication between mothers with cancer and their young children.Psicooncologia. 2018; 15: 237-248https://doi.org/10.5209/PSIC.61433
- Psychological distress, role, and identity changes in mothers following a diagnosis of cancer: a systematic review.Psycho Oncol. 2018; 27: 2700-2708https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.4904
- Qualitative Secondary Research A Step-by-step Guide.SAGE, London2019
- The impact of breast cancer on the family.Semin. Oncol. Nurs. 1985; 1 (10.1016-/SO749-2081(85)80010-3): 206-213
- Correlates of unmet needs and psychological distress in adolescent and young adults who have a parent diagnosed with cancer.Psycho Oncol. 2016; 25: 447-454https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.3942
- Psychometric evaluation of the Offsrping Cancer Needs Instrument (OCNI): an instrument to assess the psychosocial unmet needs of young people who have a parent with cancer.Support. Care Cancer. 2013; 21: 1927-1938https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-013-1749-z
- Levels of unmet needs and distress amongst adolescents and young adults (AYAs) impacted by familial cancer.Psycho Oncol. 2017; 26: 1285-1292
- How are kids holding up? A systematic review and meta- analysis on the psychosocial impact of maternal breast cancer on children.Cancer Treat Rev. 2016; 49: 45-56https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctrv.2016.07.005
- Individual predictors of adolescent adjustment to maternal cancer: the role of perceived stress, coping, social support, attachment and self-efficacy.Cancer Rep. 2018; https://doi.org/10.1002/crn2.1145
- Parent's experience of cancer who have young children: a literature review.Cancer Nurs. 2010; 33 (110–8)https://doi.org/10.1097/NCC.0B013E3181C024bb
- Parents with advanced cancer: worries about their children's unspoken concerns.Am. J. Hospice Palliat. Med. 2020; : 1-7https://doi.org/10.1177/1049909120969120
- How does parental cancer affect adolescent and young adult offspring? A systematic review.Int. J. Nurs. Stud. 2018; 77: 54-80https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnursstu.2017.08.017
- Do families cope communally with breast cancer, or is it just talk?.Qual. Health Res. 2015; 25: 320-335https://doi.org/10.1177/10-497-32314549605
Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 25, 2022
Accepted:
August 5,
2022
Received in revised form:
August 4,
2022
Received:
September 6,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
