Parental Views of the Social Environment of an Outpatient Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to investigate, through the eyes of the parents, the social environment of the outpatient bone marrow transplant (BMT) clinic. The BMT clinic provides children with posttransplant treatment and emergency care. The clinic consists of an open room with eight patient chairs where the staff can assess and treat the patients. Via investigator-designed questionnaires, 17 participants responded to items on the variables of comparison to traditional settings, privacy, comparison with other children, and social support. Content validity was established through review by nurse clinicians. Findings indicated that the parents preferred the environment of this clinic to traditional clinics and that the informal social support they and their children received while in the waiting room was a main strength. However, parents also identified negative aspects of comparing their children to others and lack of privacy. Overall, the parents reported the advantages of this clinic outweighed the possible negative aspects. Results indicated that the setting studied has the ability to foster a social environment complementary to the technical aspects of medical care.