Abstract

Objective: This is a descriptive study investigating the quality of life among hospitalized children aged 2-7 years with cancer by some of their characteristics.

Method: The sample of the present study consisted of the mothers of children aged 2-7 years who were hospitalized in oncology clinics of two university hospitals in Ankara, diagnosed with cancer at least six months ago, and had no major physical and motor development disorders. Accordingly, 35 voluntary mothers were included in the study, and their written consent was obtained. The data were collected with a “Demographic Information Form” and the “Parent-Proxy Report of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 3.0 Cancer Module,” which was developed by Varni et al. (1999) and whose validity and reliability study was conducted by Yıldız Kabak et al. (2016) for children aged 2-7 years.

Results: Mean scores of the girls, those aged 49-84 months and those diagnosed with cancer at the age of 49-78 months, children of mothers who did not meet any child development specialists (CDSs), and children of mothers who did not meet and have any idea about CDSs during treatment were high on the subscales of pain and hurt, cognitive problems, worry, and perceived physical appearance, respectively.

Conclusion: The findings revealed that age and gender of the child, the age of diagnosis, and meeting any CDSs were factors affecting the quality of life of children with cancer.