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A Comparative Study on the Levels of Anxiety of Pediatric Oncology Patients With and Without Exposure to the Kythe Child Life Program

Background: In the Philippines, there is a growing number of young children diagnosed with life-limiting illnesses. A survey conducted by the Philippine Cancer facts and estimates (2006) found out that some 3500 Filipino children are diagnosed with cancer yearly. However, there is a dearth of hospital-based programs that aim at addressing the psychosocial needs of pediatric chronically ill patients and their families. Aim: The study looked at the level of anxiety of school-aged children with hematologic and oncologic illnesses exposed to a hospital-based child life program for at least six months, as well as, those of school-aged children with hematologic and oncologic illnesses who have not had any exposure to a hospital-based child life program. A comparison was made between the levels of anxiety of the two groups. The study aims to show the value of a hospital-based psychosocial program and hypothesized that chronically ill children exposed to the services of a hospital-based child life program have lower levels of anxiety compared with the children who have not had any exposure to such. Methods: This quantitative, quasi-experimental study employing a posttest only group design, compared the levels of anxiety of 80 children ages 5-11 years old diagnosed with hematologic and oncologic illnesses who were exposed to a hospital-based child life program for at least six months against those of children with hematologic and oncologic illnesses who have not had any exposure to such a program. The Child Drawing: Hospital, a validated and reliable tool used to provide a measure of the anxiety level of the hospitalized child as expressed by the child himself was used. Results: Using independent t-test to analyze the data, the levels of anxiety between the two groups show a significant difference. Results show that children who have been exposed to a hospital-based child life program had low levels of anxiety while those who have not had exposure to the such a program had average to high levels of anxiety. Conclusion: Children who have access to the services of a hospital-based child life program experienced significantly lower levels of anxiety as compared with their counterparts who are not exposed to such a program. The results support the value of child life services and, as such, should be considered an integral part of quality pediatric health care and essential in family-centered care and best-practice models of health care delivery for children.