Needs of Parents of Children with Cancer for a Parent Supportive Meeting

BACKGROUND: Parent supportive meetings (PSM) may assist families in reducing the distress of having a child with cancer. Little is known about what parents regard as their needs for support. AIM: The purposes of this study were to investigate the needs and preferences of parents of children with cancer for PSM and its determinants. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using semi-structured questionnaires. Parents of childhood cancer patients who attended an Indonesian academic hospital were recruited between March and July 2019. RESULTS: Parents of 200 patients participated in this study (response rate 95%). Parents are interested in group (90%) and individual (84%) support to help them deal with stress related to their child’s illness. The best time to attend the supportive meeting is during treatment (53%), the best format is a drop-in basis (83%), and the best schedule is monthly (58%). Attendance is very important to: explore services and available support in the community (70%), get advice about family or relationship issues (62%), and learn how other parents cope with stress and anxiety (59%). Significantly more mothers (93%) than fathers (84%) are interested in supportive meetings (p = 0.046). More frequent meetings are preferred by low-educated (48%) than high-educated parents (31%, p = 0.015) and by younger (55%) than older parents (35%, p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: This study shows that parents of children with cancer at an Indonesian academic hospital are interested in monthly drop-in-based PSM during the whole treatment course to help them better cope with stress related to their child’s illness.