Parental narratives of quality of life in children with leukemia as associated with the placement of a central venous catheter

Thirty mothers of children with leukemia were interviewed about the childs' and family's daily routines using a version of the Ecocultural Family Interview. Parental narratives were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Four broad dimensions, encompassing 23 subthemes, were identified: child coping (alpha = 0.88), child quality of life (alpha = 0.72), parental coping (alpha = 0.72), and parental trust in the medical care (alpha = 0.73). Two objective variables were drawn from the medical charts (time from the diagnosis, time from central venous catheter [CVC] placement). Regression analyses showed that the number of days from the CVC placement (beta = 0.46) and child coping (beta = 0.44) significantly predicted children's quality of life, which in turn predicted parental trust in the medical care (beta = 0.31). The methodological implications of our narrative approach are discussed.