Mother-child dyad support needs to be expressed by mothers diagnosed with breast cancer.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate the support needs identified by Taiwanese breast cancer diagnosed mothers for themselves and their 6-12-year-old children for implementation in a support group. BACKGROUND: Mothers with dependent children are burdened with diverse child-centered concerns while battling breast cancer. A better understanding of the concomitant support needs of mothers and their children can yield tailored support for ill mothers and their children. DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive study employing content analysis of collected data. METHODS: Between February and June of 2020, semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 20 mothers who had been diagnosed with breast cancer in the last 2 years. Qualitative content analysis was used. This study followed the COREQ guidelines. RESULTS: Ill mothers favoured a hybrid format for support groups, consisting of mother-only, child-only, and mother-child group sessions. The content analysis yielded four themes for mother-only group sessions: (1) learning to reach out to children; (2) dealing with negative emotions; (3) how to say goodbye to children; and (4) resetting for the future. Three themes related to child-only group sessions emerged: (1) emotional and health education; (2) getting along with a sick mother; and (3) preparing for uncertainty. The core theme for mother-child group sessions was relationship enhancement. CONCLUSION: The findings revealed that mother-reported support needs of ill mothers and their children included support for improving children's emotional well-being and mothers' emotional coping, preparing for uncertainty, and promoting intimacy in the mother-child relationship. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: A relation-focused approach to psychosocial support group development that allows mother-child mutual influences on each other's coping to be addressed bilaterally is suggested. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Mothers diagnosed with breast cancer were interviewed for data collection and invited to review and validate the synthesised data for enhancing the credibility of the study.

Children's experiences of living with maternal breast cancer: A qualitative study.

AIMS: To investigate the experiences of Taiwanese school-aged children coping with maternal breast cancer. DESIGN: A qualitative interview study. METHODS: A cohort of 10 boys and 12 girls aged 6 to 13 years (mean age, 9.86 years) whose mothers were diagnosed with breast cancer in the last 2 years were recruited from patient networks in Taiwan. Data were collected from February to June 2019 via semi-structured individual interviews. Their responses were subjected to content analysis. RESULTS: Content analysis yielded six themes: (1) reluctance to share feelings with others; (2) recognizing changes in the tone of family life; (3) casting the cause of breast cancer onto oneself; (4) engaging in active coping; (5) maturing and gaining life lessons; and (6) family communication matters. CONCLUSION: The findings shed light on how family processes and cultural beliefs shape children's experiences. School-aged children came to terms with the significance of maternal breast cancer from a broad context of family experiences over time, and thus gained insights into their self-expectations and future aspirations. IMPACT: Healthcare professionals can help school-aged children develop a rational view of breast cancer pathogenesis. In addition, we suggest nursing interventions to support a family-oriented approach to coping. Such interventions should address changes in family processes to improve coping abilities of children and the entire family.

Maternal Experiences of Parenting Young Children While Battling Breast Cancer in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Western mothers with breast cancer find themselves struggling with parenting responsibilities. Because parenting is culturally shaped, literature on ill mothers' experiences of parenting young children from a collectivist culture is limited. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine Taiwanese mothers' experiences of and cultural practices embedded in parenting young children while in treatment for breast cancer. METHODS: Sixteen mothers with at least 1 child younger than 12 years were recruited from a breast cancer organization in Taiwan. Data were collected from November 2016 to June 2017 via a semistructured individual interview and analyzed using a content analysis technique. RESULTS: Five themes, namely, "maternal limited disclosure, complementary with children's tacit knowledge," "the scar is no longer a scar but a symbol for intimate bonding," "issues of maternal absence for young children and school-aged children," "the power of 'We are a family'," and "to live a simple life and to live for one's self," elucidate how cultural beliefs and practices shape maternal parenting experiences during treatment of breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The findings illustrate how Taiwanese mothers interpret their illness, contextualize illness-related messages in daily life, and maintain family ties while coping with breast cancer. The will to maintain the family's integrity, including the extended family, can empower mothers throughout the trajectory. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Ill mothers may benefit from nurses' guidance on daily routines and cultural practices that they can exploit to frame illness messages for their children. Maternal efforts to change their outlook on life, vocalize their needs, and become more assertive should be acknowledged and supported.