Quality of life among parents of children with cancer

BackgroundThe health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of parents caring for children with cancer significantly impacts their child's HRQoL as well. HRQoL measures encompass various aspects of health, including physical well-being and overall health perception. Understanding parental HRQoL is crucial for healthcare providers to assess and implement targeted interventions, to improve the well-being of both parents and children. This study aimed to evaluate the HRQoL among parents of children with cancer in Saudi Arabia.MethodsA cross-sectional study conducted at a Children Cancer Center, Riyadh Saudi Arabia. Random sampling technique was used to enroll 200 parents. A 36-item short-form survey (SF-36) constructed for self-administration. Sf-36 was developed with two main domains, the physical component (PC) and the mental component (MC) each domain containing four subscales. Descriptive analysis was performed on the data to determine the HRQoL of the parents.ResultsThe parents reported weak to medium levels of HRQoL varying from 38.4 MC score and 50.3 PC score. MC domain indicated weak level of HRQoL, three out of four subscales for MC domain scored weak HRQoL (Role Limitation due to Emotional problem, Energy/Fatigue, and Social Function) with 20.6, 39.8, 42.6 respectively, while the last subscale (Emotional well-being) reported medium level of HRQoL score. The PC domain reported medium level, and the most affected subscale was the Role Limitation Due to Physical Health with 32 total score that indicated weak level of HRQoL. This, followed by the Pain and General Health subscale scored as 43.4 and 57.7 respectively, which reported as medium HRQoL while the physical function reported good HRQoL with 68.3 score. However, this indicate the total HRQoL score for parents of children with cancer in Saudi Arabia was 44.4, which conceder as Weak HRQoL. Number of factors were detected that have a significant impact on the HRQoL; the main factors that negatively influence the score for different domains are female children and children of younger ages.ConclusionsOur study helps us to emphasize the importance of mental support for parents, including implementing several coping strategies; support groups, therapy for the family or individual, and online resources to enhance their HRQoL.Legal entity responsible for the studyThe authors.FundingHas not received any funding.DisclosureAll authors have declared no conflicts of interest.