Intercultural differences in parental perceptions of children's cancer

Purpose: Cultural influences on parental perceptions of their children's cancer effect familial coping and adjustment. We investigated parental perceptions of their child's illness severity and treatment among Jewish Israeli and Arab (Palestinian Israelis and Palestinians from the West Bank /Gaza) parents of pediatric oncology patients to better understand possible cultural differences and similarities.

Methods: During this mixed-methods cross sectional study, the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire was completed by 205 parents of children receiving treatment in four medical centers throughout Israel.

Results: Jewish parents perceived the hospital treatment to be more effective. Arab parents perceived that cancer has a greater negative emotional influence on them as compared to Jewish parents. Further, Jewish parents felt that their child's illness had greater impact on their lives compared to Arab parents. Finally, Arab parents felt they had greater control of the illness and better understanding of the illness. When asked what they believed had 'caused' their children's cancer, both groups expressed, spiritual-religious, child's immunity status and environmental causes, yet Arab parents mentioned unhealthy food, superstitions and Supernatural (the evil eye) causes more frequently.

Conclusions: Understanding how culture influences parental illness perceptions can assist pediatric oncology nurses and social workers to offer more effective treatment management.

Implications for nursing practice: These results highlight the need to extend cultural competence to incorporate illness perception among different ethnic and religious groups being treated in a pediatric oncology department.