Parental Narratives of Quality of Life in Children with Leukemia as Associated with the Placement of a Central Venous Catheter

Thirty mothers of children with leukemia were interviewed about the child's and family's daily routines using a version of the Ecocultural Family Interview. Parental narratives were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Four broad dimensions, encompassing 23 subthemes, were identified: child coping (α = 0.88), child quality of life (α = 0.72), parental coping (α = 0.72), and parental trust in the medical care (α = 0.73). Two objective variables were drawn from the medical charts (time from the diagnosis, time from central venous catheter [CVC] placement). Regression analyses showed that the number of days from the CVC placement (β = 0.46) and child coping (β = 0.44) significantly predicted children's quality of life, which in turn predicted parental trust in the medical care (β = 0.31). The methodological implications of our narrative approach are discussed.