Finding family resilience in adversity: A grounded theory of families with children diagnosed with leukaemia.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To develop a conceptual framework that explores the process of building family resilience among Chinese families with children diagnosed with leukaemia. BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of childhood leukaemia has a devastating effect on the family. Nonetheless, some families were able to positively respond to the crisis. The process through which Chinese families bounce back has received little attention. DESIGN: Grounded theory. METHODS: This study used purposive and theoretical sampling to select 16 parents who agreed to participate in semistructured interviews after children were diagnosed with leukaemia. Data collection and analysis occurred simultaneously. Data were analysed through a process of open, axial and selective coding. The COREQ checklist was followed for reporting. RESULTS: A core category of 'finding family resilience in adversity' was generated. The core category was underpinned by a transition process between two fluid stages: (a) Disrupting the family system, informed by subcategories of negative emotional disturbances and challenges of the diagnosis and treatment journey; (b) Cultivating resilience in families, informed by subcategories of increasing positive attitudes; establishing new family routines; activating good support systems; and practising open family communication. CONCLUSIONS: The transition process from the disruption of the family system to the cultivation of family resilience is perceived as a complex family dynamic in response to childhood leukaemia. Our findings can form the basis for further research about resilience-based family interventions that promote family well-being during the early stages of a childhood leukaemia diagnosis. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: It is necessary for healthcare professionals to provide essential support for families to face the challenges of diagnosis and treatment to facilitate the successful transition to family resilience. By understanding the dynamic process of developing family resilience, healthcare professionals are able to focus on these families to provide holistic care that satisfies the specific demands of family members.

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON BIASED COGNITIVE PROCESSING IN ACCIDENTALLY INJURED PATIENTS WITH DIFFERENT POSTTRAUMATIC GROWTH LEVELS.

BACKGROUND: Various studies have assessed the negative and/or positive changes in the aftermath of traumatic events. Accidental injuries (such as accidents, injuries, etc.), for its high incidence and disability rate, is easy to cause serious psychological problems and hinder the physical and psychological rehabilitation of the patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: To explore the characteristics of attention bias in accidentally injured patients with different levels of Posttraumatic growth (PTG), total score of PTG was adopted to screen out 15 high-PTG group and low-PTG group respectively among accidentally injured patients. Dot probe task was used with positive, negative and neutral facial expression pictures as experimental materials. An experimental design of 2 (facial expression: positive and negative)x2 (consistency of probe point and facial expression: consistent and inconsistent)×2 (PTG level: high and low) was employed. RESULTS: Patients with low PTG level had attention bias toward the negative emotional stimuli, and difficulty in distraction from the negative emotional pictures. The value of D and DI were both significantly greater than 0 (p<0.05). Patients with high PTG level did not demonstrate significant attention bias toward positive or negative emotional stimuli. The responding time of patients with high PTG level was significantly shorter than that in patients with low PTG level in the incongruent task (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: There are different characteristics of implicit cognitive processing in patients with different level of PTG, suggesting the necessity of psychological intervention on the accidentally injured patients.