Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide the basic data to develop the effective nursing intervention for the parent who have children with cancer by acquiring the deeper understanding of the mothers' adjustment of caring for their children with cancer.
Methods
The ethnographic research method was used to find out the pattern of caring adjustment in Korean cultural context. Informants consisted of 12 mothers who were caring for their children with cancer. The data were collected using in-depth interviews, participant observation, and telephone interviews by maximum variation purposive sampling. The data were analyzed following Spradley's methodology.
Results
The mothers' caring adjustment were organized into one cultural theme, four categories, and twelve properties. The cultural theme was 'standing alone as a mother with sin'. The four categories were 'blaming for falling illness', 'overcoming with motherhood', 'desperate struggling with side effects', and 'establishing new network as a dependent'.
Conclusion
For the mothers who are caring children with cancer, the supportive nursing intervention based on the deeper understanding of mothers' pattern of caring adjustment for their children and centered on facilitating effective adjustment in each cultural context especially from the very early stage of caring in the hospital ward is extremely required.
Figures and Tables
Table 1
Cultural Theme, Categories, and Properties
![kjwhn-21-216-i001](/upload/SynapseData/ArticleImage/2102kjwhn/kjwhn-21-216-i001.jpg)
Summary Statement
▪ What is already known about this topic?
Many studies have found that mothers caring for their children with cancer have experienced high stresses in the process of caring adjustment.
▪ What this paper adds?
This paper shows the pattern of caring adjustment to mothers' role caring children with cancer with overcoming the caring difficulties with the power inherent to motherhood while they suffer with a series of painful process related to mother role in the early stage of the caring in Korean society, which reflects strong confucianism culture.
▪ Implications for practice, education and/or policy
Nursing intervention, such as parent education program and its institutional support, facilitating adjustment and coping to their caring role for children with cancer is desperately necessary in the hospital ward from the beginning stage of the caring.
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