E D Garrard1, K M Fennell2,3,4, C Wilson3,4,5,6. 1. School of Psychology, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace Campus, Level 5 Hughes Building, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia. garrardeleanor@gmail.com. 2. Sansom Institute for Health Research, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, City East Campus, P5-06H Playford Building, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia. 3. Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer, School of Medicine, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia. 4. Cancer Council SA, 202 Greenhill Rd, Eastwood, 5063, South Australia, Australia. 5. Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre, Heidelberg, 3084, Victoria, Australia. 6. School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, 3000, Victoria, Australia.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore rural families' functioning following a parental cancer diagnosis. METHOD: Ten families in which a parent of dependent children had received a cancer diagnosis were purposively sampled using two questionnaires based upon the Resiliency Model of Family Adjustment and Adaptation (RMFAA): the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales (F-COPES) and the Family Attachment Changeability Index 8 (FACI8). The total participant number was 34, which comprised the involvement of 17 parents and 17 children. The use of questionnaires ensured representation from both high and low functioning families. Qualitative data were gathered via semi-structured family interviews, and thematic analysis was used. RESULTS: Families identified three key challenges that are not accounted for by the RMFAA and may be unique to the rural cancer patient experience: frequent travel, increased work/financial demands and family separation. Families also described a number of protective factors that enabled them to cope with the demands of the cancer diagnosis, some of which were specific to rural families, while others may apply to Australian families more broadly. Many of these protective factors aligned with the RMFAA framework. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that rural families' ability and willingness to access external resources, including informal community support and formal support services, are influenced by the strength of their internal protective factors. This result has practical implications for the development of interventions that accommodate the specific supportive care needs of rural families affected by cancer.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore rural families' functioning following a parental cancer diagnosis. METHOD: Ten families in which a parent of dependent children had received a cancer diagnosis were purposively sampled using two questionnaires based upon the Resiliency Model of Family Adjustment and Adaptation (RMFAA): the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales (F-COPES) and the Family Attachment Changeability Index 8 (FACI8). The total participant number was 34, which comprised the involvement of 17 parents and 17 children. The use of questionnaires ensured representation from both high and low functioning families. Qualitative data were gathered via semi-structured family interviews, and thematic analysis was used. RESULTS: Families identified three key challenges that are not accounted for by the RMFAA and may be unique to the rural cancerpatient experience: frequent travel, increased work/financial demands and family separation. Families also described a number of protective factors that enabled them to cope with the demands of the cancer diagnosis, some of which were specific to rural families, while others may apply to Australian families more broadly. Many of these protective factors aligned with the RMFAA framework. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that rural families' ability and willingness to access external resources, including informal community support and formal support services, are influenced by the strength of their internal protective factors. This result has practical implications for the development of interventions that accommodate the specific supportive care needs of rural families affected by cancer.
Entities:
Keywords:
Cancer; Family functioning; Psychosocial; Rural
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