Facilitating and hindering factors for coping with the experience of having a child with cancer: A Lebanese perspective.

BACKGROUND: Families with a child with cancer face significant emotional and psychosocial stressors. The frequency of childhood cancer is increasing in Lebanon with more than 282 children diagnosed each year. This condition is reported to evoke a range of challenging emotions for parents, yet no studies have been conducted on the facilitating and hindering factors that affect Lebanese parents coping with a child with cancer. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to gain an in-depth understanding of factors facilitating and hindering coping methods of Lebanese parents with a child with cancer. METHODS: The study followed purposeful sampling and saturation principles in which 12 parents (mother or father) of a child were interviewed. Data were analyzed following the Utrecht School of phenomenology. RESULTS: Helpful and harmful experiences emerged through the coding process. The enabling factors were social/family support; talking about it; strong religious beliefs; and the communication style of health workers. On the other hand, the deterring factors were the waiting time and the hospital stay; changes in the couple's relationship; and sibling rivalry. CONCLUSION: These results could be used as the basis for additional research aimed at developing a structured approach to care that endorses the coping processes of Lebanese parents with a child with cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: Nursing and medical staff need to be conscious of parents' coping strategies and their impact on family dynamics and the relationship between the family and the health care team.

Effectiveness of an Educational Workshop on Palliative Care Knowledge in Lebanese Nurses.

Background: Lebanon is one of the world's smallest countries, with an area of 10,452 square kilometers. Life expectancy in Lebanon presently stands at about 76.6 years for men and 79.3 years for women. It is well known that with long life comes chronic disease, serious illness, and increased resource utilization. With a rapidly aging population and ever-increasing life expectancy, an increase in illnesses that affect the elderly is expected to follow, including non-communicable diseases and cancer. Nurses are the largest workforce in Lebanon and are thus in a prominent position to influence the quality of palliative care (PC) delivery throughout the course of illness. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an educational workshop on PC knowledge, attitude, and skills for practicing nurses at a Lebanese university medical center. Design: A mixed-method approach comprising a quasi-experimental and a qualitative process evaluation was followed to assess the nurses' knowledge, attitude, and skills about PC before and after the workshop and to evaluate the process itself. A convenience sample of 45 registered nurses working at the university medical center from multiple clinical units participated in the workshop that took place over one day in a referral medical center in Beirut. Inferential statistical analysis was used. Results: Data were analyzed using SPSS 25 for Windows. The paired t test showed a significant increase between the pre-and post-test scores t (39) = 11.07, p < 0.001 with a 95% confidence interval for the mean difference of (17.58-25.45). Thirty-eight participants (90.5%) did not pass the pre-test exam whereas only 12 participants (30.0%) did not pass the post-test exam. Recommendations: It is highly recommended to follow up with the participants of this workshop to determine the immediate and long-term outcomes of this educational workshop as well as offer workshops for a wider population of nurses in Lebanon and the region.

Lebanese parents' experiences with a child with cancer.

BACKGROUND: The impact of childhood cancer on the family has been studied in different cultures and continues to be an object of study and concern, In Lebanon, a country of 4 million people 282 new pediatric cases of cancer age <20 years diagnosed in 2004 were reported in 2008. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Lebanese families living with a child with cancer. METHOD: The study followed purposeful sampling in which 12 parents (mother or father) of a child with cancer were interviewed. Data were analyzed following the hermeneutical process as described by Diekelmann and Ironsides (1998). RESULTS: A constitutive pattern "It is a continuous battle" and five themes emerged from the data analysis. Living with the shock of the diagnosis; Alterations in the quality of the family's life; Living with added burdens; Disease impact on the family and sibling dynamics; Living with uncertainty represent the major themes that emerged from the participants' experiences while living with a child with cancer. CONCLUSION: The study contributes to the knowledge that would help health care professionals understand the experiences and challenges that are faced by Lebanese families living with a child with cancer. This awareness would serve as a basis for health care professionals in general and nurses in particular to understand parents' experiences, and offer support, elicit communication of feelings, and examine possibilities for forming a partnership during the challenging course of the child's illness. Supported parents are more likely to provide more effective care to their child with cancer.