Challenges Faced by Mothers Caring for Children with Leukaemia During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the experiences of parents who care for children diagnosed with leukaemia. This paper is focused solely on reporting the interview findings from participating mothers regarding the challenges of caring for children with leukaemia in the context of the COVID-19.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The study took place in a Jordanian hospital where a descriptive qualitative design approach was applied on one oncology floor and an oncology clinic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with mothers of children aged 1-12 with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Inductive thematic analysis approach was undertaken. Written consent was obtained from all participants.

RESULTS

Fifteen interviews were conducted with fifteen mothers. Four major themes reflect the different challenges parents and children face during the COVID-19 pandemic: children refusing to wear masks, social isolation, family relationship and financial concerns.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of the current study present important data for health care professionals to help them understand the challenges faced by parents and children with leukaemia, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

This study suggests activating emotional support teams in hospitals. These teams can actively help mothers express their concerns and worries which might otherwise foster self-blame, guilt and isolation.

TRADITIONAL PRACTICES ADOPTED BY JORDANIAN MOTHERS WHEN CARING FOR THEIR INFANTS IN RURAL AREAS

BACKGROUND

Traditional practices are commonly present within the Jordanian society, especailly those concerned with infant's care. Some of these practices might be harmful and thus health professioanls are required to substitute these practices with safe and healthy ones. The goal of this study is to determine the traditional practices adopted by Jordanian mothers when caring for their infants in rural areas.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A descriptive study design using qualitative method was utilized in this study. A Purposive sample of 30 mothers was recruited from four rural regions in outskirts of Amman the capital city of Jordan.

RESULTS

Mothers had traditional infant's care practices pertinent to bathing of babies, including the salting, swaddling, care of the umbilical cord and jaundice.

CONCLUSION

Traditional practices are still common in Jordan; some of these behaviors can cause health risks. While health consequences of some of the traditional practices are still not clear, health professianls, especially nurses, are required to intervene by changing policies and education.

Multivariate analysis of intracranial pressure (ICP) signal using principal component analysis

The diagnosis and treatment of hydrocephalus and other neurological disorders often involve the acquisition and analysis of large amount of intracranial pressure (ICP) signal. Although the analysis and subsequent interpretation of this data is an essential part of the clinical management of the disorders, it is typically done manually by a trained clinician, and the difficulty in interpreting some of the features of this complex time series can sometimes lead to issues of subjectivity and reliability. This paper presents a method for the quantitative analysis of this data using a multivariate approach based on principal component analysis, with the aim of optimising symptom diagnosis, patient characterisation and treatment simulation and personalisation. In this method, 10 features are extracted from the ICP signal and principal components that represent these features are defined and analysed. Results from ICP traces of 40 patients show that the chosen features have relevant information about the ICP signal and can be represented with a few components of the PCA (approximately 91% of the total variance of the data is represented by the first four components of the PCA) and that these components can be helpful in characterising subgroups in the patient population that would otherwise not have been apparent. The introduction of supplementaty (non-ICP) variables has offered insight into additional groupings and relationships which may prove to be a fruitful avenue for exploration.