4.6 Article

Effect of family cohesion on symptom distress during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Journal

SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
Volume 30, Issue 2, Pages 1731-1737

Publisher

SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00520-021-06593-z

Keywords

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; Symptom distress; Longitudinal parallel process; Family cohesion; Family functioning; Cancer

Funding

  1. American Cancer Society [RSGPB-05-01201-CPPB]

Ask authors/readers for more resources

The study found that higher family cohesion predicted the trajectory of HSCT-associated symptom frequency and bother. HSCT recipients with higher family cohesion at baseline showed lower symptom frequency and bother. Additionally, recipients who had improved family cohesion over time reported a decrease in symptom frequency and bother over time.
Purpose Family may play an important role in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recovery; however, little is known about the effect of family functioning on an individual's health. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of family cohesion (family functioning) on the trajectory of HSCT recipients' symptom distress (symptom frequency and symptom bother) before, during, and after HSCT. Methods Secondary analysis was conducted using data collected from178 individuals who underwent HSCT. Longitudinal parallel process (LPP) modeling was used to examine how family cohesion and HSCT-associated symptoms (symptom frequency and symptom bother) change over time, and how these longitudinal changes relate to each other. Results The trajectory of family cohesion predicted the trajectories of HSCT-associated symptom frequency and bother. HSCT recipients who experienced higher family cohesion at baseline (T1) showed lower symptom frequency (p <.01) as well as symptom bother (p <.01) at T1. This trajectory analysis also showed that HSCT recipients who had improved family cohesion over time reported decrease in symptom frequency (p <.01) as well as bother (p <.01) over time. Conclusion Findings indicate that higher family cohesion predicts decrease in symptom distress over the HSCT trajectory. Interventions aimed at enhancing family cohesion have the potential to lower HSCT recipients' symptom distress. Further research is needed to understand the critical role of family cohesion and family functioning and their relationship with HSCT symptom distress prevention, early detection, and risk stratification.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.6
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available