Den svenska versionen av Children’s International Mucositis Evaluation Scale : - Tonåringar och föräldrars åsikter om instrumentets frågor

Sammanfattning: ABSTRACT Background: In all cancer therapies occurs more or less side effects, there one of them are mucositis. Symptoms of mucositis include wound and blister in the oral mucosa and affects 50-80% of children undergoing cancer treatment. Today there is no Swedish tested assessment scale for mucositis. Aim: To describe how teenagers with cancer and parents of children younger than 12 years with cancer perceive issues in a mouth-assessment instruments, Children’s International Mucositis Evaluation Scale (ChIMES), that have recently been translated into Swedish. Method/Design: The study was a quantitative descriptive research design. The participants were teenagers with cancer 12- 18 years (N=15), and parents (N=15) of children younger than 12 years. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, independent t-test and manifest content analysis. The theoretical framework used is Orem nursing theory from 1995.  Results: The result shows that there is no difference in the comprehension of the Swedish version of the ChIMES between parents and teenagers. The result also shows that the participants believes the questionnaire contained adequate questions for the assessment of mucositis. They also think that ChIMES is an easy tool to use for assessing the severity of mucositis. A manifest content analysis identified three categories: Unclear increments, more questions demanded, and hard to underestimate younger children.   Conclusion: The Swedish version of the ChIMES is understood by Swedish citizens, both by teenagers and parents. Furthermore, they agree that this is a well designed tool to use when assessing the severity of mucositis in children.