The lumbar puncture : perceptions of leukemic children

Abstract

This thesis of a leukemic child's view of a lumbar puncture experience explored the question: What cultural knowledge informs the behavior of leukemic children experiencing a lumbar puncture. Data collection followed the ethnographic interview technique (Spradley, 1979). Four informants were individually interviewed four times. Data was analyzed after each interview and presented for verification by the informant. Seven culturally relevant domains were analyzed and include: "Parts of spinal tap process," "Kinds of people doing spinal tap with me," "Characteristics of the hurting experience," "Things that help during spinal tap," "Attributes of things I think about," "Kinds of spinal taps," and "Things to tell people." Domain analysis revealed six cultural themes: "Get a good doctor," "We don't like surprises," Eight-year-old boys need their parents, Getting my mind on other things, I need to "hold on," and You can't see behind your back. Recommendations for care of leukemic children experiencing lumbar punctures were suggested along with recommendations for further research.