Coping Strategies among Parents of Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Abstract

Background: Having a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia represents challenges to the family which may impact their quality of life. In such circumstances, parents use various coping strategies to face this stressful situation, and understanding the relation of coping strategies on quality of life among parents of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia may provide professionals with ideas about how to support them which in turn may improve their quality of life. Aim: The aim of the present study was to assess the correlation between coping strategies and the health related quality of life of parents whose children are suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Study design: A cross-sectional design using guided self-administered questionnaire by a single researcher was used. Methods: A universal sample consisted of 299 parents of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was recruited from Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur Institute Pediatrics. The response rate was 98%. The data collection tools were WHOQOL BREF which is the World Health Organization Quality of Life shorter version and Brief COPE questionnaires. Results: The results revealed that half of the parents perceived their health related quality of life as good. The highest scores for parents were reported on the social relationship domain meanwhile the lowest were reported on the environmental health domain. In regard to the coping strategies, it was found that religion was most frequently used while humor was the least to be used. Moreover, there was a significant positive relationship between quality of life of the parents and problem-focused coping style and a significant negative relationship with emotion-focused coping style. Conclusion: On the basis of the finding of present study, an appropriate intervention could be design to include program that promote the use of problem-focused copings such as active coping and planning and discourage the use of emotion-focused copings such as self-blaming to enhance parents’ health related quality of life.