Comparison of the anxiety levels in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and their well siblings using the child drawing: Hospital manual”.
- Author:
Efraim P. Culminas
;
Angie Sievert-Fernandez
;
Michael M. Resurreccion
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Children;
Chronic illness;
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia;
Child Drawing: Hospital Manual
- MeSH:
Anxiety;
Siblings
- From:
The Philippine Children’s Medical Center Journal
2019;15(2):45-56
- CountryPhilippines
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVES:The study aims to determine and compare the anxiety of children with acute
lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and their well siblings based on Child drawing: Hospital manual and to
identify factors associated with the level of anxiety.
METHODS:A prospective cross-sectional study was done in tertiary pediatric hospitals which
included children aged five to eleven years old diagnosed with ALL and their well siblings.
RESULTS:A total of forty dyads of participants were studied. ALL patients presented higher anxiety
scores than their siblings, but this was not statistically significant. There is a weak direct correlation
between overall anxiety scores of ALL patients and their siblings (p = 0.017). There is insufficient
evidence for an association between select clinical factors with anxiety scores. The linear regression
model explained 49.77% in the variation of the anxiety scores but was not statistically significant.
CONCLUSIONS:There is a direct correlation between overall anxiety scores of ALL patients and
their siblings. There is also a positive association with larger family size and child‘s response to
sibling‘s illness. Larger families are likelier to have a healthier environment. The study also showed
low to average anxiety levels among participants which may be related to quality of care and support
given by the institution and inherent resiliency of the family.
RECOMMENDATIONS:Future research should aim to develop programs in partnership with
families and other social support groups and explore the effectiveness of these interventions. Further
studies should examine other possible cultural and psychodynamic factors prevalent in Filipino
Family.
- Full text:Comparison of the anxiety levels in children.pdf
