Surviving Childhood Cancer: Parents’ Perceptions of Their Child’s Health

Abstract

The improving prognosis for children with cancer refocuses attention to long-term outcomes. The purpose of this study was to assess whether changes in mothers’ and fathers’ perception of caregiving demands and well-being over a 1-year time period predicted parents’ perception of their child’s health at 12 months and to evaluate if these variables predicted change in health perceptions over a period of 1 year. Twenty Icelandic families of children younger than 18 years with cancer participated in the study. The change in general well-being over the year significantly predicted parents’ perception of their child’s health at 12 months; for the mothers, the change in well-being also predicted the changes in their perception of their child’s health over the 1-year period. These findings suggest the importance of incorporating long-term health-related outcomes and measures to improve well-being among family members in future research and clinical practice, when caring for children and families surviving childhood cancer.