Anxiety and the quality of life of children living with parental cancer

Joint Event on 49^th World Congress on Advanced Nursing Research & 27^th International Conference on Clinical Pediatrics

June 10-11, 2019 Berlin, Germany

May Aasebo Hauken

University of Bergen, Norway

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

Background: Limited research has focused on quality of life (QOL) of children living with parental cancer to discover areas of distress and wellbeing.

Aim: Study the childrenâ??s HRQOL and how this itâ??s influenced by anxiety.

Method: Survey including 35 children between 8-18 years (mean 13.3) living with parental cancer. .

Results: The children reported higher anxiety than the controls. The childrenâ??s physiological (p=.03), emotional (p=.04) and school (p=.00) function were significantly impaired, while they scored in line with the controls on selfesteem, family, friends and overall HRQOL. A negative correlation (r= -.707, p<.01) between anxiety and HRQOL was found.

Conclusions: A one-dimensional focus on anxiety may not capture these childrenâ??s multidimensional challenges. In contrast, a focus on HRQOL may give important knowledge of the childrenâ??s challenges, as well as areas where they function well.

Biography :

May Aasebø Hauken is an Associate Professor at Centre for Crisis Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway.

E-mail: may.hauken@uib.no