%0 Journal Article
%T Childhood Cancer
%A Tina Antill Keener
%J Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing
%@ 1532-8457
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1043454218818062
%X Childhood cancer-related fatigue is often viewed as an inevitable symptom of cancer and cancer treatment leading to underassessment by health care providers and self-management by families in the home and hospital environment. Parents¡¯ perspectives of the influence of childhood cancer-related fatigue on their child¡¯s day-to-day life is needed to understand how parents may or may not prioritize, report, and/or manage the fatigue symptom. This qualitative study used conventional content analysis to describe parents¡¯ observations and perspectives on the influence of fatigue in their child¡¯s day-to-day quality of life (QOL). Eleven interviews were gathered from parents. The concept childhood cancer-related fatigue and domains of QOL in pediatric oncology patients were used to guide the study, construct interview questions, and conduct conventional content analysis. A synthesis of three categories and seven codes led to three major findings: (a) parents perceive their child¡¯s symptoms as co-occurring not as a discrete entity of fatigue, (b) parents accept the child¡¯s behavior as a ¡°new normal,¡± and (c) parents recognize fatigue as a warning sign. The study findings reveal differences in how parents observe childhood cancer-related fatigue and how they perceive the symptom influences day-to-day QOL. Findings of this study support current guidelines underscoring the importance of multidimensional fatigue care. Additionally, the findings suggest a standardized multiple symptom instrument may be helpful in assessing symptom experience
%K cancer
%K children
%K fatigue
%K quality of life
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1043454218818062