Evaluation of parents ’ decision-making in oncologic pediatric treatment

Introduction: Decision-making when facing a pediatric cancer treatment deserves a spotlight due to the amount of decisions that parents must deal with during this process, which may often generate emotional stress, doubts, uncertainties and anxieties. Thus, assessing how the health team influences the decision of parents is an important factor to evaluate how much autonomy they have to be able to choose on the numerous possibilities resulting from the treatment. Objective: To evaluate parents’ decisionmaking process in oncologic pediatric treatments and to analyze the perception of coercion, the level of moral-psychological development and other difficulties. Method: 10 participants were selected by convenience to conduct individual semi-structured interviews, applying the Scale of Perception of Coercion in Assistance and the Moral-Psychological Development Scale. Results: Nine mothers and one father were interviewed (n = 10), with an average age of 33.1 years. Six categories were identified from the analysis of content originated from the central theme. There was no perception of coercion by parents and all have shown psychological and moral levels suitable for decision-making. Conclusion: It was observed that, in spite of emotional difficulties, parents have proved able to decide on issues related to the treatment of their children, having enough autonomy for decision-making.