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Coping Strategies and Caregivers Anxiety in Pediatric Oncohematology
Estratgias de Coping e Ansiedade de Cuidadores em Oncohematologia Peditrica
Marina Kohlsdorf* & derson Luiz Costa Junior
Universidade de Braslia, Braslia, Brasil
Abstract
The main goal of this paper was to investigate associations between sociodemographic data, patients clinical condition, indicators of anxiety, and coping strategies adopted by caregivers during leukemia diagnosis in order to indicate which factors may influence anxiety and the adopted coping strategies. In this study, 44 caregivers were enrolled and submitted to the Ways of Coping Scale (Brazilian Version EMEP), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Results show associations among different coping categories, caregivers age, education, and the presence of a spouse, as well as correlations related to anxiety, subjects gender, and the childrens age. There was relevant association between anxiety and emotion-focused coping, suggesting the importance of interventions during the early stages of the treatment.
Keywords: Cancer; Coping; Anxiety; Leukemia.
Resumo
O objetivo do estudo foi investigar associaes entre dados sociodemogrficos, condio clnica peditrica, manifestaes de ansiedade e estratgias de enfrentamento adotadas pelos cuidadores ao diagnstico de leucemia, para indicar fatores influentes relativos a manifestaes de ansiedade e estratgias de enfrentamento adotadas. Participaram do estudo 44 cuidadores, que responderam a Escala Modos de Enfrentamento de Problemas EMEP, Inventrio Beck de Ansiedade (BAI) e questionrio sociodemogrfico. Os resultados indicam associaes entre tipos de enfrentamento, idade do participante, escolaridade e presena de cnjuge, alm de correlaes entre manifestaes de ansiedade, sexo do participante e idade da criana. Destaca-se uma associao importante entre manifestaes de ansiedade e uso de estratgias de enfrentamento focalizadas na emoo, sugerindo a importncia de intervenes nas fases iniciais de tratamento.
Palavras-chave: Cncer; Enfrentamento; Ansiedade; Leucemia.
The diagnosis of a pediatric oncologic and hematologic pathology represents an issue for the family in a way that it modifies the family subsystems, demanding adaptations in parental care and reassessment of family dynamics during treatment period (Kars, Duijnstee, Pool, Delden, & Grypdonck, 2008; Vrijmoet-Wiersma et al., 2008; Young, Dixon-Woods, Findlay, & Heney, 2002). Understanding the implications of the oncologic treatment for caregivers of patients under treatment is a vital element for the development of more efficient interventions by health professionals.
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