Spiritual pain as part of the hospitalization experience of children and adolescents with lymphoblastic leukemia: a phenomenological study

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the experience of hospitalization among children and adolescents in treatment for acutelymphoblastic leukemia.Methods: Qualitative phenomenological study informed by grounded theory and involving a convenience sampleof children and adolescents attending an oncology unit in Spain. Data were collected through in-depth interviewswith seven children aged between 9 and 18 years and analyzed using ATLAS.Ti 7.1. software in order to identifythemes in the participants’ narratives. Specific strategies were applied to support the validity and reliability ofthe findings. Results: The analysis of interviews revealed three themes in the participants’ accounts of their experience ofhospitalization: 1) It’s normal to feel afraid when being treated in hospital; 2) Needle procedures are associatedwith pain, illness, and dying; and 3) Difficulty of expressing the suffering that is experienced in hospital.Conclusions: A core experience among children and adolescents who are hospitalized for cancer treatment is thespiritual pain that results from feeling afraid. These fears are especially associated with the needle proceduresthat are routinely performed in the diagnosis and treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.