The family of the child with cancer: socioeconomic needs

Quantitative, descriptive, correlational research with 128 families of children with cancer. Three instruments were used: "Questionnaire assessing the impact on the family of children with cancer", "Social Support Satisfaction Scale", and "Graffar Scale".

RESULTS

Families report increased economic spending due to the disease, with the displacements to hospital and medication. The loss of income by one of the parents also exacerbates the economic impact of the disease. Families with greater support needs and lower social support present greater economic impact.

CONCLUSION

The social support assumes an important role in the decrease of the economic needs incited by the disease. Nurses must identify the economic needs of the families and become part of the support network of them, being a source of support so they can strengthen themselves in caring.

Keywords:
Psychosocial effects of the disease; Family; Child; Nursing

	n	%
Provenance
North of Porto	55	43.0
Greater Porto	60	46.9
South of Porto	13	10.1
Type of families
Nuclear and extended families	103	80.5
Single parent families	25	19.5
Age group
Mother
< 30 years old	24	18.8
30 to 40 years old	68	53.1
40 or more	36	28.1
Father
< 30 years old	11	8.6
30 to 40 years old	62	48.4
40 or more	55	43.0
Primary caregiver mother
Sometimes	26	20.3
Always	102	79.7
Social class
High class	10	7.8
Upper middle class	50	39.1
Middle class	54	42.2
Low Middle Class	13	10.2
Low class	1	0.8
Family functionality
Highly functional family	97	75.8
Family with moderate dysfunction	24	18.8
Family with severe dysfunction	7	5.4

	n	%
Age group
[1-2 years old]	14	10.9
[3-5 years old]	24	18.8
[6-12 years old]	49	36.7
[13-18 years old]	43	33.6
Gender
Female	56	43.8
Male	72	56.3
Diagnosis
Lymphomas	13	10.2
Leukemia	92	71.9
Sarcomas	8	6.3
Osteosarcomas	9	7.0
Neuroblastomas	3	2.3
Carcinoma of the testicle	1	0.8
Wilms tumour	2	1.6

	n	%
Hospital visits
1 to 6 times per month	53	41.4
Every other day	57	44.5
Daily	18	14.1
Transportation costs
Up to 10 euros	35	27.3
10-15 euros	24	18.8
15-20 euros	23	18.0
> 20 euros	35	27.3
No transport costs	11	8.6
Co-participations with transportation
Some Co-participations	30	23.4
No Co-participations	98	76.6
Some of the parents continued to work
Yes	98	74.2
No	33	25.8
Increased economic expenses during illness
Few and sometimes	34	26.6
Quite often	37	28.9
Always	57	44.5
Need of support from family/friends
Never	62	48.4
Few and sometimes	42	32.8
A lot of times and always	24	18.8
Loss of family income
Never	28	21.9
Sometimes	26	20.3
Quite often	23	18.0
Always	51	39.8
Monthly expenditure on medication
Up to 10 euros	28	21.9
10 to 40 euros	75	58.6
More than 50 euros	25	19.5

Economic impact of the disease on the family
		Disagree		Agree
		n	%	n	%	p
Type of family	Nuclear and extended families	56	84.8	47		75.8	0.265
	Single parent families	10	15.2	15		24.2
	North of Porto	27	40.9	28		45.2
Area of residence	Porto	32	48.5	28		45.2	0.888
	South of Porto	7	10.6	6		9.7
	Never	16	24.2	4		6.5
	Few times	5	7.6	3		4.8
Loss of income	Sometimes	17	25.8	9		14.5	0.006
	Quite often	8	12.1	15		24.2
	Always	20	30.3	31		50.0
	Few and sometimes	26	39.4	8		12.9
Economic expenses in illness	Quite often	22	33.3	15		24.2	<0.001
	Always	18	27.3	39		62.9
	Never	44	66.7	18		29.0
Need of support from family/friends	Few and sometimes	15	22.7	27		43.5	<0.001
	A lot of times and always	7	10.6	17		27.4	<0.001

	Economic impact of the disease on the family	n	Average	DP	p
Average travels	Disagree	66	2.59	0.803	0.285
Average travels	Agree	62	2.74	0.788	0.285
Transport costs	Disagree	66	2.53	1.350	0.119
Transport costs	Agree	62	2.90	1.339	0.119
Co-participation in travels	Disagree	66	4.48	1.167	0.354
Co-participation in travels	Agree	62	4.27	1.393	0.354
Social support	Disagree	66	54.30	10.364	0.017
Social support	Agree	62	49.98	9.730	0.017
Impact of the disease on the family structure	Disagree	66	49.09	9.457	<0.001
Impact of the disease on the family structure	Agree	62	57.42	7.498	<0.001
Impact of the disease on healthy siblings	Disagree	42	23.21	9.008	0.085
Impact of the disease on healthy siblings	Agree	41	26.39	7.520	0.085

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Escola de Enfermagem Rua São Manoel, 963 -Campus da Saúde , 90.620-110 - Porto Alegre - RS - Brasil, Fone: (55 51) 3308-5242 / Fax: (55 51) 3308-5436 - Porto Alegre - RS - Brazil
E-mail: revista@enf.ufrgs.br

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[1] Corresponding author:
Goreti Marques. goreti.marques@santamariasaude.pt