Abstract
BACKGROUND: Special treatment units in particular, for age groups from birth to 14 years, or up to 18 years in some cases, provide highly advantageous treatments for pediatric cancers. BMT has become important in the treatment of several childhood diseases, such as leukemia and immunodeficiency, but with its own challenges of immune suppression, infection risks, and irregular posttransplant care. OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the healthcare experiences of mothers and the impact of the empowerment sessions conducted by nurses in the care of children post-BMT. METHODOLOGY: A mixed-method approach was used with a phenomenological design to be utilized for qualitative analysis on five mothers and a quasi-experimental pre-post design for quantitative analysis on 30 mothers. Data collection was through interviews and pre- and post-intervention assessments on nutrition, infection prevention, and follow-up care. RESULTS: Support, discomfit, and emotional involvement were among the themes that described the stay at the hospital. Nurse-led classes greatly contributed to improvement in maternal literacy: a marked reduction was observed from inadequate to 0%; moderate improvement from 6% to 60%, whereas adequate from 36 to 40%. The score on PG-SGA shows that 76.66% of the mothers showed severe malnutrition. CONCLUSION: Empowerment sessions provided by the nurses greatly empowered the mother emotionally and added to an increase in the mother's literacy skill, much contributing to an improvement in posttransplant management along with enhancing the quality of family life.