The trajectory of the caring role in Korea: A grounded theory study of mothers of children with blood cancer

The purpose of this study was to investigate the trajectory of mothers caring for children with blood cancer.Fourteen mothers of children with blood cancer participated in in-depth interviews, from 30 min to 2 h in length, from July 1 through September 30, 2019. Grounded theory was used to investigate the trajectory for mothers of children with blood cancer. Purposive sampling and semi-structured questionnaires were employed to obtain in-depth interviews.10 categories and 28 concepts were extracted from the raw data. The core category was 'living with anxiety: from life to independence of their sick child' which consisted of three phases: feeling chaos, immersing oneself in treatment, and returning to normal life. In the trajectory of mothers of caring for children with blood cancer, some participants felt like being on an island and hope to forget, whereas others tended to thank for the support of those near and find their own life according to the dimension of anxiety, support from others, and acceptance of illness.Healthcare providers must have a better understanding of how the mothers of children with blood cancer can accept and cope with their child's illness in spite of the ongoing anxiety as well as need to explore the ways in which families can accept their child's chronic illness and reconstruct their life.