The Concept of Stress Adjustment in Caregivers of Children with Cancer: A Hybrid Concept Analysis

The concept of stress adaptation is a process that causes the use of resources in order to resolve the stressful situation. Therefore, the use of appropriate coping skills, in order to decrease stress, anxiety, and depression in caregivers, causes quality improvement of treatment and care of children. Due to the importance of this issue, this study aimed to explain the concept of stress adjustment in caregivers (parents and close relatives) of cancer-afflicted children.

Concept analysis was carried out with hybrid method in three stages. In review of literature, 30 related articles available on the databases from 1990 until May 2013 were analyzed. In the fieldwork stage, interviews were conducted with 5 parents of the children, and then, data was analysis with qualitative content analysis. In the final stage, an overall analysis has been performed.

Based on the review of the literature, the best definition of stress adjustment, frameworks of the stress adjustment process of caregivers, was selected. Based on the interview analysis of the fieldwork stage, themes and sub-themes of stress adjustment strategies and actions were derived from parents of children with cancer. During the final stage of merging the two stages, definition, frameworks, actions, strategies, and consequences of stress adjustment were gained and the hybrid model was presented.

According to the result of this study, implementation of nursing interventions in order to reduce caregivers’ stress, educational plans, use of appropriate and effective adaptive skills by caregivers (parents and close relatives) of cancer-afflicted children are essential and achievable.