Maternal Caregiving Demands for Adolescent and Young Adult Survivors of Pediatric Brain Tumors.

Purpose/objectives: To examine the daily maternal caregiving demands for adolescent and young adult survivors of pediatric brain tumors who live with their families.

Design: A secondary analysis was conducted on interview data gathered during a large mixed-methods study that focused on perceived maternal caregiver competency and survivor health-related quality of life.

Setting: Home interviews.

Sample: A purposive sample of 46 maternal caregivers was selected from participants in the larger study.

Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with mothers. A directed content analysis was informed by Sullivan-Bolyai's framework describing the components of primary caregiving.

Main Research Variables: Caregiving demands.

Findings: Data regarding four main categories of maternal daily caregiving demands were identified from 25 of the 46 interviews.

Conclusions: Potential day-to-day management tasks or demands of mothers of adolescent and young adult survivors of pediatric brain tumors were identified.

Implications For Nursing: The major demands of caregiving are similar to those for children with other chronic conditions, with the addition of assisting with everyday responsibilities and fostering psychosocial health.