Abstract
BACKGROUND: IN THE LAST YEARS, THE HIGHEST PROBABILITIES OF SURVIVAL FOR CHILDREN AFFECTED BY CANCER HAVE STIMULATED A MAJOR INTEREST IN PATHOLOGY'S PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES BY THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. ALL RESEARCHERS UNDERLINE THE DIFFICULTIES CAUSED BY CANCER AND THE RISKS FOR THE CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT, BUT ONLY SOMEONE HAS SURVEIED THAT CANCER IS CAUSE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS AND THAT ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION ARE COMMON SYMPTOMS. AIMS: AIM OF THIS RESEARCH HAS BEEN TO EVALUATE, BY SPECIFIC TESTS, THE ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION'S LEVELS OF CHILDREN AFFECTED BY LEUKAEMIA, ONE YEAR AFTER THE DIAGNOSIS (ONCO-HAEMATOLOGY UNIT, 'A. MEYER' HOSPITAL, FLORENCE).
METHODS: FROM JANUARY TO JUNE 2004, THE 'ANXIETY SCALE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EVOLUTIVE AGE' (BUSNELLI, DALL'AGLIO & FAINA, 1974) AND THE 'CHILDREN'S DEPRESSION INVENTORY - C.D.I.' (KOVACS, 1982) HAVE BEEN ADMINISTERED TO 8 CHILDREN (9–13 YEARS OLD) AFFECTED BY ACUTE LINFOBLASTIC LEUKAEMIA AND A GROUP OF HEALTHY CHILDREN (9–14 YEARS OLD), ATTENDING THE SAME SCHOOLS OF ILL CHILDREN. THE QUANTITATIVE DATA OBTAINED HAVE BEEN ANALYSED BY DESCRIPTIVE STATISTIC ANALYSES.
RESULTS: THE RESULTS DON'T SHOW SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE GROUPS. In THE FIRST RELAPSE OF THE PATHOLOGY, ONLY ONE CHILD OF CLINIC SAMPLE OBTAINED A HIGH 'C.D.I.' SCORE, HIGHER THAN THE 'PATHOLOGIC CUT-OFF' ONE. In THE LITERATURE IT ISN'T EVIDENT THAT THERE IS INFLUENCE OF THE 'SOCIAL-DEMOGRAPHIC' VARIABLES ON ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION'S LEVELS AMONG CHILDREN WITH CANCER.
CONCLUSIONS: THE RESEARCH FOCUSES THE ATTENTION ON THE 'GLOBAL CARE' IMPORTANCE IN PAEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY, THANKS TO A MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM CONSTITUTED BY ONCOLOGISTS, PSYCHOLOGISTS FOR THE PARENTS CARE, INFANT NEUROPSYCHIATRISTS FOR THE CHILD ASSESSMENT AND EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGISTS, FOR THE PASTIME DURING HOSPITALIZATION AND DAY-HOSPITAL CHECKUPS. THE 'GLOBAL CARE' MAY INFLUENCE THE CHILDREN'S HEALTH, NOT DEFINED AS A SIMPLE ABSENCE OF ILLNES, BUT AS 'A STATE OF PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND SOCIAL WELL-BEING'.
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Bonini, S., Ciampi, C., Lippi, A. et al. 48 Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents Affected by Acute Linfoblastic Leukaemia. Pediatr Res 58, 362 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-200508000-00077
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-200508000-00077