The Informational Needs of Mothers about Physical Care at Home for Children who Underwent Stem Cell Transplants

Background: After children were discharged from the hospital, their mothers generally undertook all of their care responsibilities.Aim: To assess the informational needs of mothers related to the physical care of children who underwent HSCT during the early recovery period (within 3 months after transplantation).Methods: This descriptive and longitudinal study was conducted to assess the informational needs of mothers related to physical care at home of children who underwent HSCT. The sample included the mothers of 74 children who had undergone a transplant within the past three months according to the eligibility criteria. The data collection tools were the (1) Child Information Form and (2) Informational Needs Form. Data collection tools were: (1) ChildInformation Form, and (2) Informational Needs Form.Results: The total mean number of informational needs of mothers was very high at 11.3±3.1 (3-15). Both the “moderate” and “high need” rates of mothers were the highest in the areas of “medications and side effects, anticipated complications and their symptoms, skin care, pain, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and sleepmanagement”.Conclusions: The results revealed that the information needs of mothers for physical care at home of children underwent HSCT was very high. The results can assist in planning nursing strategies and collaborations to improve the discharge process for HSCT nurses, prevent and detect complications early and for decrease readmission rates of patients by public/home health care nurses.