Department of Nursing, Suwon Women's College, Suwon, Korea. hhuna@hanmail.net
Abstract
PURPOSE: This study was designed to analyze recent trends in pediatric oncology research in Korea and suggest future research directions in this area. METHOD: Studies (105) selected from http://www.riss4u.net for last 15 yr were used. They were analyzed by publication type, field and design of the study, study participants, main theme, and outcome variables used in intervention studies.
RESULTS: 1. Of the 105 studies, 67 were master and doctoral dissertations and 49.5% of studies were conducted in nursing. 2. There were 73 (69.5%) quantitative studies and 20 (19.1%) qualitative research studies and the most frequently used study design was that of a descriptive study. 3. Children with cancer undergoing treatment and their parents, mostly mothers, were the participants most frequently studied. 4. Most themes were psychological/spiritual problems, coping, and family function. 5. Most frequently measured outcome variables were nausea/vomiting, fear/anxiety and adjustment.
CONCLUSION: The results indicate that future research should include more well-designed intervention studies to develop new intervention protocols and to confirm the effect of previous study findings. It is also necessary to use an interdisciplinary approach to deal with physical and psychosocial needs of these children and their families including siblings and fathers of children with cancer.
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