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Cited by 136Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of LifeFamily Support in IllnessCancer survivorship and care

Quality of life among parents of children with cancer or brain tumors: The impact of child characteristics and parental psychosocial factors

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Litzelman, Kristin, Catrine, Kris, Gangnon, Ronald, Witt, Whitney P.·2011·Quality of Life Research
DOI 10.1007/s11136-011-9854-2PMC PMC3121891
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Abstract

Purpose Understanding the impact of childhood cancer on the family is increasingly important. This study aimed to (1) examine the relationship between child clinical characteristics and health-related quality of life (QOL) among parents of children with cancer or brain tumors, and (2) determine how parental psychosocial factors impact this relationship. Methods Using a within-group approach, this study examined 75 children with cancer or brain tumors and their parent. In-person interviewer-assisted surveys assessed sociodemographics, psychosocial factors, and QOL. Child clinical characteristics were obtained through medical record abstraction. Regressions were performed to determine factors related to parental QOL. Results Children's activity limitation and active treatment status were associated with worse parental mental QOL (5.4 and 4.4 points lower, respectively; P < 0.05). Adding parental psychosocial characteristics to the model eliminated the relationship between child clinical characteristics and parental mental QOL (P > 0.05 for all child characteristics). Conclusions While child clinical characteristics appear to be related to poor parental QOL, this relationship was mediated by caregiver burden and stress. Interventions to reduce burden and stress may mitigate the deleterious effects of caregiving. Systematic screening of parents' mental and physical health may facilitate interventions and improve the health and well-being of parents and children.

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  • The family itself constitutes the support network in most cases of family caregivers of children with cancer.

    “as reported in previous studies [66], the family itself constitutes the support network in most cases.”

    From Psychosocial Factors Predicting Resilience in Family Caregivers of Children with Cancer: A Cross-Sectional Study (2021) · cites this paper as [66]

    The Methods section identifies the parent most involved in the child’s care, and the Discussion recommends seeking social support. Neither says that the family itself is caregivers’ support network in most cases. Searches for family support networks and sources of social support found no passage establishing that claim; page numbers were unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.75)

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Authors
Litzelman, K., Catrine, K., Gangnon, R., & Witt, W. P.
Affiliations
University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
Corresponding author
Witt, Whitney P.
ORCID
Venue
Quality of Life Research
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2011-02-02
Volume
20
Issue
8
Pages
1261-1269
ISSN
  • 0962-9343 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-2649
DOI
10.1007/s11136-011-9854-2
PMC
PMC3121891
OpenAlex
W1970352678
Cited by
136
References
70
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 4
FWCI
5.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Quality of Life Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center
  • Waisman Center
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (K01HD049533, P30HD003352, HD049533)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of Life
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Family Support in Illness
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
Keywords
parental quality of life, childhood cancer, pediatric brain tumors, caregiver burden, parental stress, activity limitation, parental mental health, family impact of cancer
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Brain Neoplasms, Child, Child, Preschool, Family Health, Female, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Middle Aged, Neoplasms, Parent-Child Relations, Parents, Quality of Life, Regression Analysis, Stress, Psychological, Caregivers, Sickness Impact Profile, Young Adult

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