Coping with parental cancer: web-based peer support in children

Objective: To investigate the use and content of web-based peer support in children coping with parental cancer.
Methods: In children aged above 12 years, 158 forum discussions on the Dutch website www.kankerspoken.nl in a time-period of 3 months were investigated. Age, gender, number of discussions, participation and main activities on the website were quantitatively assessed. Contents of the discussions were qualitatively analyzed.
Results: In total, 129 children and 8 adults participated on the website with an average age of 15.3 years. The majority was female (80%). On average, a child was on-line for 3 days and participated in 4 to 5 forum discussions. Main activities on the website were sharing personal experience, providing encouragement/support, providing and seeking information or advice and seeking contact outside of the website. Qualitative content analysis revealed that children regularly faced emotional problems and experienced a lack of understanding and communication in their direct environment.
Conclusions: In dealing with parental cancer, children experience a variety of difficulties. This study offers a window into the use of web-based peer support by children dealing with parental cancer.