Page 137 - GHR_NursingCMU2024_Final.indd

Effects of Symptom Cluster Management for Children and Adolescents with
Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy: An Integrative Review

1
1
W. Sonkongdang, J. Mesukko, S. Niyomkar, and P. Thungjaroenkul 1
1
1
Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University, Thailand

Background: Children and adolescents with cancer undergoing chemotherapy often experience
clusters of symptoms that significantly affect their functional status and quality of life. Symptom
cluster management involves strategies or interventions to avert, delay, or minimize the overall
co-occuring symptoms by the patient, family members, or in collaboration with healthcare
providers. Effectively managing these symptom cluster is crucial to improve clinical outcomes and
overall well-being. However, there is a lack of clarity in the effects of symptom cluster management
specifically for children and adolescents with cancer receiving chemotherapy.

Objective: This integrative review aims to synthesize existing literature on symptom cluster management
strategies for children and adolescents with cancer receiving chemotherapy and evaluate their
effectiveness.
Oral Presentation Abstracts
Methods: This paper followed the five-stage integrative review methodology of Whittemore and
Knaft (2005), which consisted of problem identification, literature search, data evaluation, data
analysis, and presentation. The literature was searched on different databases, including CINAHL,
Google Scholar, Pubmed, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, and Wiley online library for articles published in
English between January 2014 ang July 2024.

Results: The review included ten studies that met the inclusion criteria. Symptom cluster management
strategies indentified included pharmacological treatments, physical strategies, psychological strategies,
complementary and alternative therapies, mindfulness-based interventions, and lifestyle modifications.
Overall, mindfulness-based intervention effectively managed symptom clusters, which significantly
improved patients’ physical and psychological well-being.

Conclusion: Effective management of symptom clusters in children and adolescents with cancer
receiving chemotherapy requires a holistic approach, specific symptom cluster, and specific types of
cancer. Tailored interventions that address multiple symptoms simultaneously can improve quality of
life. Future research should focus on developing and testing specific symptom cluster management
to enhance patients’ and families’ self-management.

Keywords: symptom cluster management, children, adolescents, cancer, chemotherpy

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Correspondence: Wannita Sonkongdang, Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University, Thailand
E-mail: wannita.s@cmu.ac.th

135