Feelings of parents of hospitalized children with cancer about their children’s friendship with fellow patients

Abstract

 This study aimed to clarify parents’ thoughts about their children’s friendship with peers with similar diagnoses during hospitalization for childhood cancer. A qualitative inductive study was performed using semi-structured interviews with seven parents of children with cancer who had been notified of their disease and were psychologically comfortable and able to communicate. Three categories, including “hope of helping the child fight their illness and stabilize their mental and physical condition,” “concern about the child and their peers’ burdens,” and “gratitude for connections with peers and their parents”; nine subcategories; and 172 codes were extracted. Results show that, in general, parents believed that their child’s friendship with peers in the hospital provided hope for helping their child fight their illness, thereby stabilizing their mental and physical health. Even though there was concern about the child and their peers’ burdens, both the parents themselves and their children were grateful for the connections with peers and their parents. Although the child and their peers are the main players in supporting their mutual relationship, cooperation with parents is invaluable. Parents were most concerned about the mental and physical burden that their child experienced and viewed their child’s friendships with their peers as a way to help the child confront and overcome their own illness and treatment. It is essential to further discuss the importance of friendships between children with childhood cancer and their peers taking their parents’ thoughts into consideration, as they continue to support them in their battle against cancer.