Investigation into the impact of technology-based motivation program applied to children following cancer diagnosis and their families: a randomized controlled study

Abstract Objective To determine the effectiveness of the technology-based motivation program implemented with children with cancer diagnosis and their primary caregivers. Methods A randomized controlled trial completed with 31 children aged between 9 and 18 being treated for cancer, and 31 primary c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zeynep Kisecik Sengul, Ebru Kilicarslan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-08-01
Series:BMC Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03163-4
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849235644191080448
author Zeynep Kisecik Sengul
Ebru Kilicarslan
author_facet Zeynep Kisecik Sengul
Ebru Kilicarslan
author_sort Zeynep Kisecik Sengul
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Objective To determine the effectiveness of the technology-based motivation program implemented with children with cancer diagnosis and their primary caregivers. Methods A randomized controlled trial completed with 31 children aged between 9 and 18 being treated for cancer, and 31 primary caregivers. A 10-week “Technology-based Motivation Program” was applied to the intervention group, while the control group received routine care. The program consisted of breathing, progressive relaxation exercises, imagery practices and stories for children. Primary caregivers were provided with breathing and progressive relaxation exercises. ‘State/ Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children’, ‘Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory’, ‘Paediatric Cancer Coping Scale’, ‘State and Trait Anxiety Inventory’ and ‘Process Evaluation Forms’ were administered. Chi-square test, Fisher-Exact test, Independent Sample-t test, Mann–Whitney U test, Wilcoxon test, Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the data. Results At baseline, there were no statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups in any of the scale scores, including children’s anxiety, coping skills, and quality of life, as well as primary caregivers’ anxiety levels (p > 0.05 for all comparisons). At the end of the program, State anxiety scores of the children in the intervention group were significantly lower (29.27 ± 8.13) than those of the control group (37.18 ± 9.01) (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the coping scores of the children in the intervention group were found to be significantly higher (80.20 ± 9.62) than those of the control group (67.56 ± 17.44) (p < 0.05). At the end of the program, the average state anxiety scores of primary caregivers in the intervention group (33.73 ± 12.30) were also significantly lower than those in the control group (53,31 ± 15,14) (p < 0.05). Similarly, the trait anxiety scores of primary caregivers in the intervention group (39.80 ± 9.43) were significantly lower than those of the control group (52,50 ± 16,57) (p < 0.05). Conclusion A technology-based motivation program implemented with children and their primary caregivers following a cancer diagnosis is effective in reducing anxiety, increasing quality of life, and coping. Registry of clinical trial Trials.gov Registration number: (NCT05982379|| https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ ). Date of registration: 01/08/2023.
format Article
id doaj-art-c8f79c6ce65b497ba2a666527fff2d33
institution Kabale University
issn 2050-7283
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series BMC Psychology
spelling doaj-art-c8f79c6ce65b497ba2a666527fff2d332025-08-20T04:02:44ZengBMCBMC Psychology2050-72832025-08-0113111510.1186/s40359-025-03163-4Investigation into the impact of technology-based motivation program applied to children following cancer diagnosis and their families: a randomized controlled studyZeynep Kisecik Sengul0Ebru Kilicarslan1Department of Pediatric Nursing, Health Sciences Faculty, Kirikkale UniversityDepartment of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Gazi UniversityAbstract Objective To determine the effectiveness of the technology-based motivation program implemented with children with cancer diagnosis and their primary caregivers. Methods A randomized controlled trial completed with 31 children aged between 9 and 18 being treated for cancer, and 31 primary caregivers. A 10-week “Technology-based Motivation Program” was applied to the intervention group, while the control group received routine care. The program consisted of breathing, progressive relaxation exercises, imagery practices and stories for children. Primary caregivers were provided with breathing and progressive relaxation exercises. ‘State/ Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children’, ‘Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory’, ‘Paediatric Cancer Coping Scale’, ‘State and Trait Anxiety Inventory’ and ‘Process Evaluation Forms’ were administered. Chi-square test, Fisher-Exact test, Independent Sample-t test, Mann–Whitney U test, Wilcoxon test, Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the data. Results At baseline, there were no statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups in any of the scale scores, including children’s anxiety, coping skills, and quality of life, as well as primary caregivers’ anxiety levels (p > 0.05 for all comparisons). At the end of the program, State anxiety scores of the children in the intervention group were significantly lower (29.27 ± 8.13) than those of the control group (37.18 ± 9.01) (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the coping scores of the children in the intervention group were found to be significantly higher (80.20 ± 9.62) than those of the control group (67.56 ± 17.44) (p < 0.05). At the end of the program, the average state anxiety scores of primary caregivers in the intervention group (33.73 ± 12.30) were also significantly lower than those in the control group (53,31 ± 15,14) (p < 0.05). Similarly, the trait anxiety scores of primary caregivers in the intervention group (39.80 ± 9.43) were significantly lower than those of the control group (52,50 ± 16,57) (p < 0.05). Conclusion A technology-based motivation program implemented with children and their primary caregivers following a cancer diagnosis is effective in reducing anxiety, increasing quality of life, and coping. Registry of clinical trial Trials.gov Registration number: (NCT05982379|| https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ ). Date of registration: 01/08/2023.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03163-4CancerChildMotivationParentProgramPsychosocial
spellingShingle Zeynep Kisecik Sengul
Ebru Kilicarslan
Investigation into the impact of technology-based motivation program applied to children following cancer diagnosis and their families: a randomized controlled study
BMC Psychology
Cancer
Child
Motivation
Parent
Program
Psychosocial
title Investigation into the impact of technology-based motivation program applied to children following cancer diagnosis and their families: a randomized controlled study
title_full Investigation into the impact of technology-based motivation program applied to children following cancer diagnosis and their families: a randomized controlled study
title_fullStr Investigation into the impact of technology-based motivation program applied to children following cancer diagnosis and their families: a randomized controlled study
title_full_unstemmed Investigation into the impact of technology-based motivation program applied to children following cancer diagnosis and their families: a randomized controlled study
title_short Investigation into the impact of technology-based motivation program applied to children following cancer diagnosis and their families: a randomized controlled study
title_sort investigation into the impact of technology based motivation program applied to children following cancer diagnosis and their families a randomized controlled study
topic Cancer
Child
Motivation
Parent
Program
Psychosocial
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03163-4
work_keys_str_mv AT zeynepkiseciksengul investigationintotheimpactoftechnologybasedmotivationprogramappliedtochildrenfollowingcancerdiagnosisandtheirfamiliesarandomizedcontrolledstudy
AT ebrukilicarslan investigationintotheimpactoftechnologybasedmotivationprogramappliedtochildrenfollowingcancerdiagnosisandtheirfamiliesarandomizedcontrolledstudy