Effectiveness of a Family-Management Program for Family having Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Purpose To examine effectiveness of a family-management program (FMP) on family management, family, and child quality of life (QOL) among parents of children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Methods Participants included 46 parents of children with ALL recruited through a convenience sampling method from a tertiary hospital in Thailand. Twenty-three intervention participants received a 3-weekly FMP and routine care while the other 23 control participants received only the routine care. Data were carried out at the hospital site and telephone follow-up. The study outcomes were evaluated at 3 times points (i.e. baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up) using the Family Management Measure, the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale, and the Quality Of Life of Children with cancer module. Data were analyzed using two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results The findings revealed that family management and child QOL in the intervention group were higher than that in the control group at follow-up (p < .05), but not for family QOL. Within the intervention group, there was significant improvement in family management, family QOL and child QOL at post-intervention and follow-up. Conclusions The FMP was effective in that it could increase outcomes among the parents of children with ALL after receiving the program comparing to those who did not. Healthcare providers, especially clinical nurses who work with parents having children with ALL could utilize the FMP to help them achieve optimal family management, family QOL and child QOL.