QUALITY OF LIFE, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVEL AND DIETARY BEHAVIORS OF PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH CANCER

Theodora Christopoulou, Paraskevi Chachami, Despina Antari, Dimitrios Kokaridas

Abstract


The quality of life of parents of children with cancer has been a topic of research in the international literature, whereas no research data yet for parents in Greece has been noticed. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of childhood cancer on the quality of life, dietary habits, and the level of participation in physical activities of their parents. The sample of the present study was 24 parents (14 women, 10 men), from FLOGA foundation from different regions of Greece aged 38-60 years. To conduct the present study, 3 questionnaires were administered to parents, that is, the SF-36 Quality of Life Questionnaire (Ware, Kosinski, & Keller, 2001), the Physical Activity (PA) questionnaire (Godin & Shephard, 1985) and the "Dietary Behaviors" questionnaire (Bebetsos et al., 2000). The statistical analysis involved the use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 29.00). The results of the research showed statistically significant differences based on the age of both parents and children, the marital status of the parents, the existence of parental health problems and parental health status and profession. Overall, the positive factors related to parental quality of life were identified and discussed. Future research with larger samples is needed to draw in-depth conclusions.

 

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parents, childhood cancer, quality of life, exercise, diet

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejpe.v11i4.5515

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