DOCTYPE = ARTICLE Needs of Young Children With Cancer During Their Initial Hospitalization:

The aim of this study was to describe young (under the age of 7) children’s needs as expressed by their behavior, body language and verbal expression through observations during their initial hospitalization after being diagnosed with cancer. Twelve children under the age of seven were followed during 26 hours with non-participant unstructured observations. Field notes were written after each observation and transcribed into a narrative text, which was analyzed by content analysis at both manifest and latent level. Five themes were identified, of which “need to have the parent close by” was the most prominent. The other themes were “need to play and feel joy, ” “need for participation in care and treatment, ” “need for a good relationship with the staff, ” and “need for physical and emotional satisfac-tion. ” The results indicate that the children needed their parents and the parents’presence helped the children to express other needs. Professionals need to support the child and his or her parents so that the parents in their turn can support and alleviate their child’s hospitaliza-tion and cancer treatment. Key words: childhood cancer, hospitalization, needs, observation In Sweden, about 300 children aged 0 to 14 years arediagnosed each year with childhood cancer (National Swedish Board of Health and Welfare, 2001), and of these about 75 % are cured (Gatta et al., 2003). The can-cer treatment is often painful and strenuous, lasting over long periods. Of those children who are diagnosed with cancer in Sweden, approximately 8 % are under the age of 1, 39 % are between 1 and 6 years old, 27 % are between 7 and 12 years old, and 26 % are between 13 and 18 years old (National Swedish Board of Health and Welfare, 2005). Nursing research has mainly focused on older children with cancer (Enskär, Carlsson, Golsäter