Nursing Assignment 6: Pediatric Cancer Reflection Report

This nursing assignment is a reflective report analyzing an article on pediatric cancer, focusing on the impact of the disease on both children and their mothers. The student utilizes the 5 Rs of reflection (Reporting, Responding, Relating, Reasoning, and Reconstructing) to explore the emotional, social, and ethical dimensions of pediatric cancer care. The report discusses socio-demographic factors, stress levels, and the importance of mental support for families. The student connects the article's findings to their personal experiences, emphasizing the need for ethical nursing practices and understanding the perspectives of patients and their families. The assignment concludes with a reconstruction phase, outlining how this reflection will inform future nursing practice, particularly in communication and the provision of comprehensive family-centered care. The student emphasizes the importance of recognizing the impact of socio-demographic factors and the need for caregivers to design interventions that support the entire family.

Running Head: Nursing Assignment
NURSING ASSIGNMENT

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Nursing Assignment
Table of Contents
Reporting....................................................................................................................................3
Responding.................................................................................................................................3
Relating......................................................................................................................................3
Reasoning...................................................................................................................................4
Reconstructing............................................................................................................................5
Reference list..............................................................................................................................6

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Nursing Assignment
Reporting
Mother and children face stress, socio-demographic factors, and physical distress
while coping with cancer treatment. In the chosen research paper, it has been mentioned that
both child and their mother face these issues during their treatment of cancer. Bemis et al.
(2015) have collected information from 318 mothers and 151 cancer affected children to
analyze their stress levels due to these factors. Nursing staff and other healthcare
professionals must help mothers of cancer affected children to cope up with these kinds of
stresses. This research process has taken place to shed light on mental distress of child cancer
patients and their mother due to socio-demographic factors.
Responding
My observation in this article has helped me to understand the mental condition of
parents and child cancer patients. I have understood that it is difficult to stay mentally strong
after knowing that their children will die. I have understood that this kind of cases is very
sensitive in nature and nurses must feel the pain of these parents to provide better care to
those children. Socio-demographic factors create stress in mothers of this kind of children.
For example, it has been found that many of the parents are economically unfit to get
healthcare treatment for their children. This fact creates stress among parents. My observation
has helped me to understand that these people must get mental support for caregivers to fight
with mental distress.
Relating
There is a strong connection between the content of this chosen article and my
personal experience in handling this kind of cases. I have seen this kind of situation in my

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career and found that many nurses have shared their experiences regarding this situation. The
chosen article is based on evaluation of this situation and I am feeling connected with
findings of this paper. According to my perception, these parents and children may show
anger to the healthcare staff. However, understanding their situation, nursing staff must
maintain ethics while providing pediatric care. As per my own experience, nurses are bound
with ethics and morale while they deal with pediatric patient care. Being a nurse, I found the
connection between my experience and this research. This finding has helped me to
understand that I have to be polite while communicating with mothers and child cancer
patients. Basic morale must be maintained by understanding the situation of these people.
Reasoning
Pediatric cancer in children leads to an increase in depression among parents.
Moreover, it can be seen that socio-demographic disadvantaged individuals are at a greater
risk of psychological distress. Other factors like single parenthood impacts on parents as the
fear of losing closed one get increased upon diagnosis of pediatric cancer.
This can be better explained by interpersonal theory, which explains psychological
difficulties due to improper pattern of interaction. Humans are social beings and we depend
much on relationship. Any uncommon behavior or sufferings of family members can create
stress among other members of the family like parents. This has changed my perspective
regarding inside meaning of the illness. I have come to know different factors that increase
anger, stress and other complexities upon detection of pediatric cancer. Moreover, the level of
stress also increases upon non-availability of proper treatment. People belonging to
indigenous race often get deprived of proper treatment. Hence, anger and stress can be
noticed upon parents due to negative feelings regarding the surrounding environment. This
can be better explained through the theory of cognition. According to this theory,

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psychological stress may occur due to negatively biased cognition. This can occur due to
negative thoughts about the environment.
Reconstructing
I have understood that the diagnosis of a life-ending pediatric disease like cancer can
impact on the whole family. Different socio-demographic factors like economic conditions,
race, and single parenthood can increase stress levels of parents. This can help me to reframe
my future practice. Caregivers need to design and implement interventions that are relevant to
the entire family. This can help to reduce the level of stress of parents to a greater extent.
Proper communication regarding the availability of treatment options can help to support the
parents and factors that cause stress like unavailability of treatment can be mitigated.
Providing proper information about care options and regular communication needs to be
included in professional practice.

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Reference list
Bemis, H., Yarboi, J., Gerhardt, C. A., Vannatta, K., Desjardins, L., Murphy, L. K., ... &
Compas, B. E. (2015). Childhood cancer in context: sociodemographic factors, stress,
and psychological distress among mothers and children. Journal of pediatric
psychology, 40(8), 733-743. Retrieved from:
https://academic.oup.com/jpepsy/article/40/8/733/929030