SANTOS, Cátia Queiroga dos    FIGUEIREDO, Maria do Céu Barbieri. Experiences of families in the process of adaptation to Cancer in children. []. , serIII, 9, pp.55-65. ISSN 0874-0283.  https://doi.org/10.12707/RIII1283.

Family adaptation to a child’s oncological cancer is an extremely complex process which requires the family to acquire new fundamental abilities and to rearrange their lifestyle. The goal of this study was to make a contribution towards better-quality pediatric nursing, by including family members as effective partners in care-giving. A quantitative descriptive study was carried out, involving administration of the following data collection instruments: Structured Interview; Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale II (FACES II); Inventário de Respostas à Doença nos Filhos (IRDF - inventory of Responses to the Illness of the Children); and the Inventário sobre a Perceção da Relação Enfermeiro-Pais (IPREP - Inventory of Responses of the Nurse-Parent Relationship). A sample of 130 relatives of children with oncological disease participated in this study. The results indicate that family members perceived their family as being united, flexible and moderately balanced. They demonstrated good organization in the face of disease, expressing less intensely attitudes of disbelief than states of depression. The family valued nursing care, especially with regard to child-centered care and communication. Knowing the experiences of family members of children with oncological illness helps nurses to identify the family’s needs and difficulties and to identify intervention strategies to help families adapt to oncological illness in the child.

: family; cancer; child; family nursing.

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