Clown Intervention on Psychological Stress and Fatigue in Pediatric Patients With Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy.
Cancer nursing(2020)
摘要
BACKGROUND:Clown intervention has been shown to enhance emotional and behavioral processes, but few studies have comprehensively examined the effectiveness of this practice using biomarkers.
OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a clown intervention on the levels of psychological stress and cancer-related fatigue in pediatric patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy.
METHODS:Sixteen patients who met all criteria from a pediatric oncology inpatient unit in a Brazilian comprehensive cancer care hospital participated in this quasi-experimental study. Eight saliva samples were collected, comprising 4 at baseline and 4 after clown intervention (+1, +4, +9, and +13 hours after awakening). Salivary cortisol and α-amylase levels were determined using high-sensitivity enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Stress and fatigue were measured by the Child Stress Scale-ESI and the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale, respectively. Relationships among stress, fatigue, and biomarker levels were investigated using nonparametric statistics.
RESULTS:In comparison with baseline measurements, the total psychological stress and fatigue levels improved after the clown intervention at the collection time point +4 hours (P = .003 and P = .04, respectively). Salivary cortisol showed a significant decrease after clown intervention at the collection time points +1, +9, and +13 hours (P < .05); however, α-amylase levels remained unchanged.
CONCLUSION:These findings provide preliminary evidence that clown intervention merits further study as a way to reduce stress and fatigue in pediatric cancer inpatients, and that self-report and biomarker measures are feasible to collect in this patient group.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE:Clown intervention as a nonpharmacological intervention may improve stress and fatigue levels in pediatric inpatients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy.
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