Naveen Salins, Mary Ann Muckaden, Arunangshu Ghoshal, Sunita Jadhav
{"title":"Experiences of Adolescents with Cancer Attending a Tertiary Care Cancer Centre: A Thematic Analysis.","authors":"Naveen Salins, Mary Ann Muckaden, Arunangshu Ghoshal, Sunita Jadhav","doi":"10.25259/IJPC_24_2022","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Adolescents with cancer experience several psychosocial concerns. Cancer among adolescents contributes to one-fifth of cancers in India. Most of the published empirical literature on adolescents' views about their cancer experience is from high-income countries.The objectives of the study were to explore the experiences of adolescents with cancer in India.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>Twenty-eight adolescents were purposively recruited and participated in prospectively conducted qualitative interviews conducted at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, between 2013 and 2015. Interview data were transcribed and analysed using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Two themes and several subthemes were generated during the analysis. The transition to the new reality of illness was traumatic. It embodied fear about the unknown, disease and symptoms. The experience was isolating and disfigurement further led to peer separation. Inadequate information made the adolescents anxious and worried, and children and parents experienced moments of severe distress. The love and support received from parents, siblings and extended family facilitated positive coping. Peer support was reassuring and enabled them to have a normalising experience. Discovering their inner strength, acceptance of the situation and faith in God made them resilient and hopeful.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Adolescents with cancer experience significant emotional concerns, which are often unexplored and unaddressed. An adolescent-specific communication framework and psychosocial programme contextual to the Indian setting may be developed based on the study findings.</p>","PeriodicalId":13319,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Palliative Care","volume":"28 4","pages":"428-433"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/d8/11/IJPC-28-428.PMC9699909.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Indian Journal of Palliative Care","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.25259/IJPC_24_2022","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2022/8/10 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives: Adolescents with cancer experience several psychosocial concerns. Cancer among adolescents contributes to one-fifth of cancers in India. Most of the published empirical literature on adolescents' views about their cancer experience is from high-income countries.The objectives of the study were to explore the experiences of adolescents with cancer in India.
Materials and methods: Twenty-eight adolescents were purposively recruited and participated in prospectively conducted qualitative interviews conducted at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, between 2013 and 2015. Interview data were transcribed and analysed using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis.
Results: Two themes and several subthemes were generated during the analysis. The transition to the new reality of illness was traumatic. It embodied fear about the unknown, disease and symptoms. The experience was isolating and disfigurement further led to peer separation. Inadequate information made the adolescents anxious and worried, and children and parents experienced moments of severe distress. The love and support received from parents, siblings and extended family facilitated positive coping. Peer support was reassuring and enabled them to have a normalising experience. Discovering their inner strength, acceptance of the situation and faith in God made them resilient and hopeful.
Conclusion: Adolescents with cancer experience significant emotional concerns, which are often unexplored and unaddressed. An adolescent-specific communication framework and psychosocial programme contextual to the Indian setting may be developed based on the study findings.
期刊介绍:
Welcome to the website of the Indian Journal of Palliative Care. You have free full text access to recent issues of the journal. The links connect you to •guidelines and systematic reviews in palliative care and oncology •a directory of palliative care programmes in India and IAPC membership •Palliative Care Formulary, book reviews and other educational material •guidance on statistical tests and medical writing.