Scoping review uncovers dynamic, relational meaning-making processes in school-aged children with cancer, highlighting the need for developmentally tailored pediatric care.
Key Points
To synthesize qualitative and quantitative evidence on how school-aged children with cancer construct meaning from their illness using Park's meaning-making model.
Conducted a scoping review guided by PRISMA-ScR guidelines across four electronic databases and relevant reference lists.
Included 39 peer-reviewed studies capturing direct reports from children aged 6 to 12 years diagnosed with cancer.
Employed deductive coding based on Park's meaning-making framework alongside inductive coding to identify dimensions not covered by existing adult models.
Children's meaning making encompassed global beliefs, healthcare goals, appraisals of threats to identity and normalcy, and multidimensional coping processes involving cognitive, emotional, social, spiritual, and avoidance strategies.
The meaning-making process was identified as dynamic, developmentally grounded, and relational, shaped heavily by interactions with caregivers, clinicians, and sociocultural environments.
Direct evidence characterizing children's ultimate sense of purpose or explicit 'meanings made' regarding their cancer diagnosis was qualitatively limited.