Enfrentamento entre cuidadores de pacientes pediátricos em tratamento de leucemia

Pediatric cancer treatment causes adverse repercussions to the family, since it establishes changes in caregiving practices and routine adaptations. Understanding how pediatric caregivers cope with such challenges is a requirement to promote more efficient psychosocial interventions and reducing behavioral costs related to the treatment. The goal of this study was to investigate coping strategies adopted by 30 caregivers (mean age 33,1 years; SD = 9,4) of children and adolescents, during the first round of leukemia treatment, using an adapted version of a Ways of Coping Questionnaire (Escala Modos de Enfrentamento de Problemas – EMEP) and a semi-structured interview. Using statistical tests for associations between demographic data and types of strategies, as well as comparing the means obtained, the results show important changes in the adopted strategies, such as an increase over time in problem-focused strategies, and a decrease in emotion-focused strategies. Besides that, there were associations between socio-demographic data, emotion-focused coping strategies and the search for social support. The reports from interviews show other examples of coping strategies, besides items in the EMEP, and also the main demands and difficulties associated to this form of treatment. According to the results, it is highlighted that understanding the caregivers´ experience constitutes a relevant indicator regarding the care available by health professionals. Keywords: coping among caregivers; cancer; pediatric psychology.