Psychological Limbo as a Barrier to Spiritual Care for Parents of Children with Cancer: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background: Pediatric cancer causes reduced life quality and psychological problems for parents. It is necessary<br />to pay attention to spirituality, which plays a significant role in increasing the life quality of these parents and their<br />patient children and managing the conditions associated with the disease. This study was performed to determine<br />factors predisposing to spiritual care in parents of children suffering from cancer. Methods: This qualitative study was<br />conducted by conventional content analysis. Fifteen parents of children with cancer hospitalized in the oncology and<br />hematology wards of governmental hospitals in Iran were selected using a purposive sampling method and underwent<br />semi-structured deep interviews from 2015.1.10 until 2017.3.10. Results: On data analysis, 12 subcategories emerged<br />leading to extraction of three : “projection", “mental concern", and “psychological pains". The final result was a focus<br />on the theme “psychological limbo". Conclusion: Our findings showed that cancer induces psychological problems<br />in parents, which may serve as factors that drive them towards spiritual affairs. Hence, attention should be paid to<br />predisposing factors of spiritual care to facilitate tranquility and an ability to adapt to their circumstances in affected<br />parents.