The effect of peer education programs on stress and perception of illness uncertainty among parents of children with cancer

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of peer education program on stress and parents' perception of disease uncertainty in children with cancer.Methods: In the present quasi-experimental study, ۷۸ parents of children with cancer hospitalized were selected by convenience sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Two caregivers whose children were hospitalized undergoing chemotherapy and family caregivers outside the hospital were selected as peers. Four training sessions were held by selected peers for the caregivers of the experimental group. At the beginning of the study and one month after the last work session, standard questionnaires for understanding parental uncertainty and stress were completed by caregivers in both groups. Results: The results showed that peer education reduced the stress intensity of parents with children with cancer from the mean of very severe stress intensity ۳۵.۲۴±۳.۴۱ to moderate level ۱۹.۸۲±۳.۳۵ decreased compared to the control group which decreased from ۳۵.۹۴±۳.۰۶ to ۳۵.۲۴ ±۳ ۳.۸۱ (p <۰.۰۰۱). The results also showed that after the intervention, parents' perception of their child's disease uncertainty in the experimental group from ۱۳۹ ± ۲۶.۴۵ reached a moderate level ۷۳.۴۱± ۸ ۸.۱۷and improved compared to the control group that It decreased from ۱۳۵.۸۱± ۱۱ ۱۱.۰۲ to ۱۳۴.۹۱ ± ۶.۷۰ (p <۰.۰۰۱)Conclusion: Peer education reduced stress and improved parents' understanding of their child's uncertainty. The use of peer education method is effective due to the transfer of experiences and empathy of educators.

Keywords:

Peer education , stress , parents' perception of disease uncertainty , cancer