Pediatric Nursing تمريض الأطفال
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
- ItemSelf-Perceived Health Status and Sense of Coherence among Children with Cancer in the West Bank, Palestine(Al-Quds Univeersity, 2026-01-03) Donya Mohammad Sobhi Anbar; دنيا محمد صبحي عنبرIntroduction: Self-perceived health status (SPHS) and sense of coherence (SOC) are important concepts in understanding the health experience of children with cancer. This study aims to identify the level of SPHS and SOC, identify the relationship between medical and sociodemographic characteristics and SPHS/SOC, and identify the relationship between SPHS and SOC among children aged 8 to 18 years with a cancer diagnosis. This study aims to fill that gap by exploring the relationship between SOC and SPHS in children with cancer in the West Bank, Palestine. Understanding these concepts will reveal the children's coping mechanisms and help healthcare providers improve SOC in routine care to enhance SPHS, assist policymakers in creating supportive programs, and ensure psychological needs are met, while also guiding future research. Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used. Two hundred participants completed the surveys, with a response rate of 54.1%. Participants were between 8 and 18 years old, had received a cancer diagnosis, were admitted to pediatric oncology/hematology wards or attended outpatient clinics at Najah National University Hospital (NNUH)/Nablus, Al-Istishari Hospital/Ramallah, and Beit-Jala Hospital/Bethlehem. Among the participants, 72% of children with cancer aged 8 to 18 years completed the PedsQL 3.0 Cancer Module Arabic Version, while 28% of children aged 13 to 18 years completed both the PedsQL 3.0 Cancer Module Arabic Version and the SOC-13 Arabic Version. The study period was from October 15, 2024, to December 16, 2025. Results: The findings revealed that the PedsQL mean was 52.02 (SD = 17.02) and had low SPHS; the highest score was in the domains of communication (mean = 67.96 ± 28.11), while the lowest SPHS was in the domains of worry (mean = 36.00 ± 29.02) and procedural anxiety (mean = 36.62 ± 27.68). Also, the SOC mean score was 55.02 (SD = 12.27), and 76.8% of participants had low SOC. The SOC domains were 19.54 ± 6.78 out of 35 for comprehensibility, 17.59 ± 3.86 out of 28 for manageability, and 17.89 ± 4.61 out of 28 for meaningfulness. Otherwise, Statistical analysis demonstrates a significant co-relationship between SPHS and SOC with r = 0.490, P-value < 0.01. Which means, high SOC indicates high SPHS, as a result, coping with stressors and living with cancer. Conclusion: The political situation in Palestine may negatively affect SOC in children overall, and specifically impact those with cancer, due to a lack of services and medication, and difficulty accessing healthcare. Tracking SPHS and SOC helps in understanding the impact of these barriers and assists caregivers in developing more effective interventions to improve the quality of care and support provided to these children. In summary, SOC is a key concept that affects SPHS among children with cancer. This shows that the psychological aspect in children is just as important as the medical aspect.
- ItemExamining Trauma Exposure, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Anxiety, Depression and Coping Strategies among Early Adolescents Affected by War in Jenin Refugee Camp, Palestine(Al-Quds Univeersity, 2026-01-10) Abeer Ghassan Mohammad Nazzal; عبير غسان نزالAbstract Background: Early adolescents living in war zones are exposed to chronic and cumulative traumatic stressors that place them at high risk for psychological distress. Palestinian children residing in Jenin Refugee Camp have experienced repeated military incursions, forced displacement, and ongoing instability. Objectives: This study aimed to examine trauma exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD symptoms, anxiety, depression and coping strategies among early adolescent aged 10-14-year-old affected by war in Jenin Refugee Camp, Palestine. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive-correlation design was employed using a purposive homogeneous sample of displaced children aged 10–14 years residing in Arab American University-Palestine AAUP temporary shelters. Data were collected between June 10 and September 10, 2025, using a war-related traumatic events checklist, the BIRLS Depression Self-Rating Scale, the Spence Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, a (DSM-5-TR) based PTSD assessment, and the Brief-COPE Scale. Descriptive statistics, inferential analyses, and post-hoc Tukey tests were conducted. Results: Early adolescent reported extremely high exposure to war-related traumatic events, particularly jet-fighter sonic sounds (99.1%), forced displacement (99.1%), and viewing images of injured or killed individuals through media (95.2%). High levels of depression (M = 67.43), anxiety (M = 65.79), and PTSD (M = 60.02) were observed. Intrusion was the most severe PTSD symptom cluster, followed by arousal and reactivity, negative cognitions and mood, and avoidance. Coping levels were high, with predominant emotion-focused and avoidance-based strategies, including self-distraction, venting, religious coping, active coping, and planning. Significant associations were found between intrusion and self-distraction, and between avoidance and positive reframing and humor. Sociodemographic differences emerged across several coping strategies, higher denial among children with fathers of lower educational levels, higher behavioral disengagement among children of employed mothers, higher positive reframing among older children (12–14 years) and higher self-blame among children from larger families and those with more highly educated mothers Conclusion: Palestinian early adolescents demonstrate remarkable coping efforts. However, persistent war-related trauma exposure within an oppressive ecological system limits the protective capacity of these strategies, resulting in high levels of psychological distress.
- ItemAwareness and Attitudes toward Venous Thromboembo-lism among Nurses and Midwives in Obstetric Wards in Bethlehem and East Jerusalem(Al-Quds University, 2025-12-15) Rania Aodeh Ali-Al-Halabiah; رانيا عودة علي الحلبيةIntroduction: Venous thromboembolism is a preventable complication commonly seen in hospitalized patients. Its effective management requires coordinated efforts among different healthcare professionals. Nurses and midwives play a crucial role by recognizing patients at risk and implementing suitable preventive interventions, thereby greatly enhancing VTE pre-vention in clinical settings. Aim: To assess nurses’ and midwives’ awareness and attitudes regarding venous thromboem-bolism among women in obstetric wards at Bethlehem Governorate and East Jerusalem hospi-tals. Methodology: A quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in three pri-vate hospitals and one government hospital in Bethlehem and East Jerusalem. The sample in-cluded 140 nurses and midwives working in antenatal, labor, and postnatal wards. Data were collected using validated questionnaires. Ethical approval was obtained from the Al-Quds University Ethics Committee, along with permissions from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, nursing directors, and ward midwives. Verbal informed consent was obtained and document-ed on the first page of the questionnaire. The study was carried out from November 2024 to November 2025, and data were analyzed using SPSS version 27. Result: The findings show that 71.3% of nurses and midwives had a high level of overall VTE awareness. Awareness was highest in Domain 1 (VTE definition and pathophysiology) at 73.1% and Domain 2 (risk factors) at 75.4%, while 66.4% demonstrated high awareness in Domain 3 (prophylaxis measures). Most participants (96.7%) also reported a positive attitude toward VTE. Overall awareness was significantly associated with workplace, availability of protocols, and prior VTE training (p = 0.026, 0.002, and <0.001, respectively). Attitudes were significantly associated with education level, profession, and prior training (p = 0.018, 0.027, and 0.003). A strong positive correlation was observed between awareness and attitudes (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The findings highlight the need for ongoing education, standardized protocols, and adequate resources to strengthen nurses’ and midwives’ awareness and attitudes toward VTE and its prevention. Enhancing these areas may improve clinical performance, support ear-ly detection of VTE, and contribute to better maternal outcomes and higher-quality care in Palestine. Key recommendations include implementing regular VTE-focused training pro-grams, ensuring the availability of standardized VTE prophylaxis protocols across all hospital departments, and integrating comprehensive VTE prevention and management modules into midwifery education programs.
- ItemFactors Associated with Utilization of Postpartum Family Planning Services Between Mothers of 6 and 12 weeks of Delivery in Southern West Bank Hospitals(Al-Quds University, 2025-04-09) Hanan Shihadeh Mahmoud Shihadeh; حنان شحادة محمود شحادةFamily planning is crucial for human beings to maintain physical and mental health as a recognized basic human right (United Nations-UN, 2015). In Addition, family planning enables people to make better choices about their sexual life and reproductive health. It represents an opportunity for women to pursue additional education and participate in public life, including paid employment in non-family organizations (WHO, 2024). Aim. To investigate the factors that are associated with the utilization of postpartum family planning services among postpartum mothers between 6 and 12 weeks of delivery in the West Bank in Palestine Method. A descriptive cross-sectional survey research design was employed to implement this study. The target population was composed of all Palestinian mothers who had given birth in the last six-twelve weeks in Southern West Bank of eight Palestinian hospitals. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire adopted from previous studies. The English version of the questionnaire was translated into Arabic language. The questionnaire contained items that aimed to assess mother's sociodemographic characteristics, their knowledge, attitudes and associated factors. The collected data was analyzed employing the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version (28). Results. Out of 200 distributed questionnaires, 179 questionnaires were included in data analysis. The current study's findings revealed that study's findings revealed that 179 participants, yielding a response rate of 89.5%. Among the respondents, (53.6%) were aged 28 years and above. At the time of data collection, (43.6%) held a diploma, while (12.3%) had a bachelor’s degree. In addition, Contraceptive use and three of the sociodemographic characteristics were positively correlated, namely, with number of pregnancies, with number of live births and age of last child. On the other hand, contraceptive method use was negatively correlated with some of the sociodemographic characteristics namely, education, awareness of contraceptive method. Conclusion. There is insufficient use of PPFP services in Southern West Bank Hospitals. Findings revealed that the majority (53.6%) had not used any family planning method postpartum. Furthermore, there is a relationship between Women knowledge and their levels of education, there is a need for upgrading the levels of women education. Furthermore, increase the awareness of women about family planning may give better chances for the women to develop their knowledge towards Family planning method utilization. Keywords Postpartum family planning, associated factors, mothers, family planning services, Southern
- ItemExperiences of Mothers having a Child with Leukemia in the West Bank, Palestine(Al-Quds University, 2025-04-29) Baraah Ghalib Yasien Taqatqa; براءة غالب ياسين طقاطقهLeukemia is one of the most common childhood cancers. In Palestine, leukemias are the most common types of cancer with an estimated incidence rate of 2.6 per 100,000 children.Mothers who care for children with leukemia encounter numerous challenges in meeting their children's needs. Aim: To explore the experiences of mothers who have a child with leukemia in the West Bank, Palestine. Methodology:A qualitative descriptive design was used to explore the experiences of mothers with children with leukemia. Fifteen mothers were selected from the Huda Al-Masri Department in Bethlehem at Beit Jala Governmental Hospital. This included children from the cities of Bethlehem and Hebron in the southern West Bank. The mothers were interviewed via Semi-structured interviews. Sociodemographic data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 26), while the qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis to identify themes and subthemes. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethical Committee at Al-Quds University, and permission was granted by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. All participants signed a consent form. Results:The analysis revealed that mothers with children diagnosed with leukemia experienced significant challenges captured in the main Five themes that emerged from the analysis: emotional issues, the impact of child illness, hinders due to the political situation, mothers’ needs for resilience, and the coping mechanisms mothers use to manage their challenges. Each theme highlights a specific aspect of their experiences. Additionally, nineteen sub-themes were identified to provide a more detailed understanding of the findings. Conclusion:This study highlights the experiences of mothers caring for children with leukemia. It underscores the emotional and psychological challenges they encounter and emphasizes the necessity for comprehensive support systems that address the complex nature of their caregiving experience. Key Words: Mother’s experience, childhood leukemia, qualitive study, content analysis, coping mechanisms, challenges