Adequate nutrition is an important part of supportive therapy for the pediatric cancer patient. The aim of this study was to assess parents' perceptions of their child's eating pattern after onset of chemotherapy and the strategies they used to cope when eating problems arose. A semistructured interview was performed with parents of 11 consecutively admitted children. The results showed that parents have a realistic perception of their child's food intake and that they are able to recognize reasons for poor food intake that may be unknown to the staff. The individual responses of the parents and the mechanisms of coping were unique for each individual. The responsibility of getting the child to eat was distressing for many parents. The study indicates that parents need continuous support to serve an optimal role in the nutritional care of their child.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Andrassy, R., & Chwals, W.J. (1998). Nutritional support of the pediatric oncology patient. Nutrition, 14, 124-129.
2.
Bernstein, I.L. (1994). Development of food aversions during illnessProceedings of the Nutrition Society, 53, 131-137.
Birch, L.L., & Marlin, D.W. (1982). "I don't like it. I never tried it." Effects of exposure to food on two-year old children's food preferences. Appetite, 3, 353-360.
5.
Birch, L.L., Zimmerman, S.I., & Hind, H. (1980). The influence of social-affective context on the formation of children's food preferences. Child Development , 51, 856-861.
6.
Birch, L.L., & Fischer, J.A. (1995). Appetite and eating behavior in children. In G.E. Gaull (Ed.), Pediatric Clinics of North America, Pediatric Nutrition (pp 931-953). Philadelphia, PA: Saunders.
7.
Birch, L.L. (1980). Effects of peer model's food choice and eating behaviors on preschoolers' food preferences. Child Development , 51, 489-496.
8.
Bruce, Å. & Becker, W. (1989). Swedish Nutrition Recommendations, (SNRVår Foda, 4, 271-280.
9.
Davies, C.H., Noll, R.B., Davies, W.H., & Bukowski, W.M. (1993). Mealtime interactions and family relationships of famihes with children who have cancer in long-term remission and controls. Journal of the American Dietetic Association , 93, 773-776.
10.
Dolgin, M.J., Phipps, S., Harow, E., & Zeltzer, L.K. (1990). Parental management of fear in chronically ill and healthy children. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 15, 733-744.
11.
Fischler, C. (1988). Food, self and identity. Social Science Information, 27, 275-292.
12.
Florian, V., & Krulik, T., (1991). Loneliness and social support of mothers of chronically ill children. Social Science and Medicine, 32, 12911296.
13.
Hanigan, M., & Walter, G., (1992). Nutritional support of the child with cancer. Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, 9, 110-118.
14.
Hoekstra Weebers, J.E.H., Jaspers, J.P.C., Kamps, W.A., & Klip, E.C. (1998). Gender differences in psychological adaptation and coping in parents of pediatric cancer. Psychooncology , 7, 26-36.
15.
Holm, L., Smidt, S., & Michaelsen, K.F. (1996). Socio-psychological significance of hospital meals—the impact of the introduction of a new catering system in a children's cancer ward. Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition , 40, 6-10.
16.
Holm, L., & Smidt, S. (1997). Uncovering social structures and status differences in health systems. European Journal of Public Health, 7, 373-378.
17.
Holm, L., & Smidt, S., (1993). Meal systems at a hospital ward for children with cancer. Sosiologi idag, 1, 1125 (m Norwegian, abstract in English).
18.
Holsti, O.R. (1969). Content analysis for the social sciences and humanitiesReading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
19.
Jessop, D.J., Riessman, C.K., & Stein, R.E. (1988). Chronic childhood illness and maternal health . Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 9, 147-56.
20.
Krippendorf, K. (1980). Content analysis. An introduction to its methodologyBeverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications .
21.
Kvist, S.B., Rajantie, J., Kvist, K., & Siimes, M. (1991). Perceptions of problematic events and quality of care among patients and parents after successful therapy of the child's malignant disease. Social Science and Medicine, 33, 249-256.
22.
Mauer, A., Burgess, J., Donaldson, S., Richard, S., Stallings, V., van Eys, J. & Winnick, M. (1990). Special nutritional needs of children with malignancies: a review. Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 14, 314-324.
23.
Pliner, P. (1982). The effects of mere exposure on liking for edible substances. Appetite, 3, 283-290.
24.
Swedish Nutrition Recommendations (1996). Swedish Nutritional Food Administration. Uppsala, Sweden.
25.
Skolin, I., Axelsson, K., Ghannad, P., Hernell, O., & Wahlin, Y.B. (1997). Nutrient intake and weight development in children during chemotherapy for malignant disease. Oral Oncology, 33, 364-368.
26.
Sundström, G., & Wahlin, A. (1997). Comparison of efficacies of ondansetron and dixyrazine for prophylaxis of emesis during induction treatment in acute myelogenous leukemia. Acta Oncologica, 36, 229-230.
27.
Tyc, V., Mulhern, R.K., Jayawardene, D. & Fairclough, D. (1995). Chemotherapy-induced nausea and emesis in pediatric cancer patients: An analysis of coping strategies . Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 10, 338-347.
28.
Tyc, V., Vallelunga, L., Mahoney, S., Smith, B., & Mulhem, R. (1995). Nutritional and treatment-related characteristics of pediatric oncology patients referred or not referred for nutritional support . Medical and Pediatric Oncology, 25, 379-388.
29.
Wall, D.T., & Gabnel, L.A. (1983). Alterations of taste in children with leukemia . Cancer Nursing, 6, 447-452
30.
van Eys, J. (1998). Benefits of nutritional intervention on nutritional status, quality of life and survival. International Journal of Cancer, 66-68 (Suppl. 11).
31.
Weber, P. (1994). Basic Content Analysis. In M. Lewis-Beck (Ed.). Research Practice- International Handbooks of Qualitative Applications in the Social Sciences, volume B (pp 251-286). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
