Abstract:
This qualitative study aims to describe the approach of dealing with sleep problems of school-age patients with leukemia during chemotherapy. The informants are the school-age patients with leukemia aged 8-12 years. The data was collected by an in-depth individual interview. After the 10th interview, the data collection has reached a saturation point. The thematic analysis was used to analyze the data with an interpretation and construction approach. The study findings show that the approach of dealing with sleep problems of school-age patients with leukemia during chemotherapy consists of 4 themes as follows; 1. The lack of acknowledgement of sleep problems by others: the sleep problems among school-age patients with leukemia are not shared with others and no one acknowledges such problems. 2. Discontinuation in sleep: patients experience interrupted sleep, modulate insomnia and sleepwalk. 3. Activities when having sleep difficulties: school-age patients with leukemia will do some activities when having trouble falling asleep such as playing mobile games, playing with their phones, watching TV which can worsen the problem. 4. Taking a nap: school-age patients with leukemia make an adjustment to be able to have a short nap in different places that are not home or bedrooms, falling asleep when they rest their eyes. The findings show that the school-age patients with leukemia during chemotherapy are presented with sleep problems that have not been solved. These findings can be used as a fundamental data for treatment for patients with sleep problems and related future research.