The Information Needs of Parents of Children with Cancer: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: Cancer is one of the chronic diseases in children. Parents of children with cancer, as members of the healthcare team with the special role, need enough information about cancer. The aim of this study was exploring and identifying the information needs of parents of children with cancer. Method: This was a qualitative research using content analysis method with a phenomenological approach. ۱۴ parents were selected from Children&#۳۹;s Medical Center Hospital of Tehran, Iran, and interviewed using semi-depth method for three months. The obtained data were constantly analyzed through constant comparison analysis method. Results: The obtained data were categorized into ۴ themes and ۱۴ subthemes. Medical information about child with cancer, physical healthcare, psycho-educational care, and lifestyle information were the main concerns of parents. Conclusion: Medical information, psycho-educational, and physical healthcare information have been identified as the most important concerns of parents in relation to the child with cancer. Thus, it seems essential to develop suitable parents’ education plans.

کلیدواژه ها:

Child ، cancer ، Parents ، Information sharing ، needs ، qualitative research