Unmet supportive care needs and psychological distress among parents of children with cancer in Indonesia.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the needs and associating factors, psychological distress of parents when taking care of children with cancer in Indonesia.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 parents of children with cancer from the pediatric ward of two hospitals in Indonesia. The parents were assessed using the Indonesian version of the Supportive Care Needs Survey for Partner and Caregiver (unmet needs) and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (psychological distress). The factors associated with unmet needs were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression.

RESULTS: Among the surveyed parents, 83% had over ten unmet needs. Among these unmet needs, need for information was the highest one. In the self-report measure using a clinical cut-off, 49% of the parents reported signs of anxiety, and 25% had signs of depression. Parents reporting clinically relevant levels of anxiety had more unmet needs than parents without clinically relevant anxiety. Having fewer children was correlated with higher work and social needs, and higher levels of education were correlated with more psychological needs. However, the children's clinical variables were not associated with the overall needs in the regression model.

CONCLUSIONS: Most parents of children with cancer reported a need for more information and reported signs of anxiety and depression. Parents with fewer children and higher levels of education were identified as a vulnerable population due to having greater needs. The result of this study can be used to improve supportive care for parents of children with cancer in hospital settings.