Parental grieving after a child dies from cancer: is stress from stem cell transplant a factor?

Abstract

Aim: to investigate psychological distress, family functioning and complicated grieving in parents whose child had died from cancer, and as a function of whether: (a) the deceased child had also received stem cell transplant (SCT) any time during curative treatment; and (b) the place of the child's death (home or hospital).

Design: a cross-sectional case-match design.

Sample: Fifty-six Australian bereaved parents in two groups: 28 whose child had also received SCT, matched with 28 (on deceased patient variables) whose child had not received SCT.

Results: parents in the 'SCT group' (n = 28) reported relatively higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress, and - for those whose child had also died in hospital - a greater likelihood of meeting the criteria for traumatic grief than those parents whose deceased child had not received SCT. There were no significant group differences in family functioning.

Conclusion: routine psychosocial screening, especially for families undergoing SCT, may contribute usefully to a proactive model of palliative care in identifying parents at risk for complicated bereavement outcomes.