Aim/Purpose: Although understudied, the time immediately after cancer treatment ends has been considered a crisis period. The transition to survivorship is a time of great uncertainty and fear for families even if it is situated in a context of positive emotions and feelings. Many survivors and parents experience difficulties at the end of treatment associated with their quality of life. Research has shown that social support (i.e., support from others) is essential in maintaining a good quality of life, however, this support tends to diminish once treatment ends. Resilience, or the ability to cope in times of stress, is important for maintaining quality of life. The process of resilience is largely dependent on one’s social support. A comprehensive account of the role of social support and its relationship between resilience and quality of life in leukaemia survivors and their parents is currently lacking in the literature and this study aims to fill this gap.
Methods: A longitudinal mixed methods design will be adopted to examine this relationship at the end of treatment and in a further 6- and 12-months time. Children and parents will be asked to participate in separate questionnaires examining their experiences of social support, resilience and quality of life. Semi structured interviews will then further elucidate these experiences.
Results: N/A
Implications: Findings from this study may lead to better tailored approaches to healthcare relationships and help inform future research and policy on how best to support survivors and their parents on their journey of survivorship.
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