Investigating the Effect of Family-Centered Empowerment Model on the Lifestyle of Children Suffering From Leukemia

Introduction: Treatment and complaints related to leukemia not only affects the lifestyle of children but also affects other members of the family and even the community. Objective: Determining the effect of the family-centered empowerment model on the lifestyle of children suffering from leukemia. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial was conducted at Amirkabir Hospital of the city of Arak. All the qualified patients in the oncology ward were selected through the census method, and randomized into two groups - test and control. In the test group, the family-centered empowerment model with the four dimensions - perceived threat (severity and sensitivity), self-efficacy, educational participation, and evaluation was applied while in the control group, normal care, was implemented. The research tools were questionnaires of demographic information, lifestyle, and the four dimensions of empowerment. The questionnaire to evaluate the children&rsquo;s lifestyle included five dimensions of nutrition, sleep, physical activity, physical health, and stress. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics, paired t-test and independent t-test in the significance level (P<0.05) were used.&nbsp; Results: Both the groups of test and control, were the same in terms of demographic information (P>0.05). Prior to intervention, there was no significant difference between the meanmean lifestyle level in the two groups (P=0.119). However, after the intervention, there was a significant difference between the two groups in the meanmean lifestyle level (P&le;0.001). Conclusion: Implementing the family-centered empowerment model for patients suffering from leukemia is feasible from a practical point of view and is accompanied by improvement or modification of their lifestyle.