Adult survivors' perceptions of their childhood and the influences of being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as a child: A phenomenographic study

Susann Arvidsson; Elisabeth Brobeck; Jens M Nygren; Marianne Jarfelt; Katarina Aili; Maria Olsson

doi:10.1016/j.ejon.2024.102592

Adult survivors' perceptions of their childhood and the influences of being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as a child: A phenomenographic study

Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2024 Apr 15:70:102592. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2024.102592. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Susann Arvidsson¹, Elisabeth Brobeck², Jens M Nygren³, Marianne Jarfelt⁴, Katarina Aili³, Maria Olsson⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Health and Welfare, Halmstad University, P.O. Box 823, SE-301 18 Halmstad, Sweden. Electronic address: susann.arvidsson@hh.se.
² Department of Research and Development, Region Halland, Lasarettsvägen, SE-302 33 Halmstad, Sweden.
³ School of Health and Welfare, Halmstad University, P.O. Box 823, SE-301 18 Halmstad, Sweden.
⁴ Department of Oncology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Box 426, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden; The Long-term follow-up for Adult Childhood Cancer Survivors, Oncology Department Sahlgrenska University Hospital, SE-413 45 Gothenburg, Sweden.

PMID: 38669953
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejon.2024.102592

Abstract

Purpose: Adults who had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) as children and were treated with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) may have been affected in their lives due to several long-term complications. From a clinical point of view, it is of interest to study how survivors describe their perceptions of their childhood today. The aim was therefore to describe how adults perceived their childhood and the influences of being treated for ALL with aHSCT as a child.

Method: Semi-structured telephone interviews were undertaken with 18 adults who had been treated for childhood ALL with aHSCT and were included in a national cohort of childhood ALL survivors, diagnosed between 1985 and 2007 at an age between 0 and 17 years. A phenomenographic analysis was used.

Results: Three categories emerged: Feeling different, Feeling security and Feeling guilty. The informants felt that they had been different from other children but had felt security with the healthcare professionals and in care. They felt guilty because both their siblings' and parents' lives had been affected, but at the same time many perceived that they and their family members had become closer to one another.

Conclusions: The results emphasised that adults who had been treated for childhood ALL with aHSCT were affected both in negative and positive ways during their childhood. This indicates the importance for early psychosocial care interventions directed to children during their treatment, but also the need for person-centred psychological care in long-term outpatient clinics.

Keywords: Adult survivors; Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia; Perceptions; Phenomenographic; Qualitative.