~ 102 ~ International Journal of Research in Paediatric Nursing 2020; 2(2): 102-111 E-ISSN: 2664-1305 P-ISSN: 2664-1291 IJRPN 2020; 2(1): 102-111 Received: 25-05-2020 Accepted: 29-06-2020 Elshaimaa Gamal Hasan Master degree in Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Minia University, Egypt Soheir Abd-Rabou Mohamed Professor of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University, Egypt Sanaa Mahmoud Ahmed Assistant Professor of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Minia University, Egypt Khalid Fathy Riad Lecturer of Pediatric Oncology, South Egypt Cancer Institute, Assiut University, Egypt Aml Sayed Ali Lecturer of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Minia University, Egypt Corresponding Author: Elshaimaa Gamal Hasan Master degree in Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Minia University, Egypt Knowledge and performance of caregivers having children with cancer undergoing chemotherapy Elshaimaa Gamal Hasan, Soheir Abd-Rabou Mohamed, Sanaa Mahmoud Ahmed, Khalid Fathy Riad and Aml Sayed Ali Abstract Background: Cancer is a leading cause of death for children worldwide. More than 80% of children with cancer are cured in high-income countries, but only 20% are cured in many low-income countries. Aim of the study was: To assess the knowledge and performance of caregivers having children with cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Research design: A descriptive research design was used in the current study. Sample: A purposive sample of 35 caregivers having children with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy was participated in the study. Setting: The current study was conducted in the pediatric unit at Minia Oncology Center. Three Tools were: Tool (I): Structured Interview Sheet: it covered the personal data of the caregivers and the characteristics of the child; Tool (II): Caregivers Knowledge Assessment Sheet and Tool (III): Caregivers Performance Assessment Sheet. Results: There was lacking in knowledge and performance of Caregivers having children with cancer undergoing chemotherapy. There were no statistically significant relationships between the total mean scores of caregivers' knowledge and total caregivers' practice regarding childhood cancer and chemotherapy as well as their personal data as age, level of education, their children's age, gender and the child's rank in the family (p=>0.05). Conclusion: The study concluded that the overall level of caregivers' knowledge and performance was unsatisfactory. Personal variables have no impact on the knowledge and performance of the caregivers. Recommendation: The study recommended that developing periodic educational programs and instructions to caregivers having children with cancer undergoing chemotherapy would improve their knowledge and performance regarding childhood cancer and chemotherapy. Keywords: Childhood cancer, chemotherapy, caregivers, knowledge, performance 1. Introduction Childhood cancer is a significant public health problem worldwide and is the second leading cause of death after accidents in children ages one to fourteen. Approximately 1,190 children under the age of fifteen are predicted to die from cancer in 2020. Around 11,050 children in the United States under fifteen will be detected with cancer in 2020. Childhood cancer rates have been rising to some extent for the past few decades. Because of significant treatment advances in recent decades, 84% of children with cancer now survive five years or more. Overall, this is a considerable increase since the mid-1970s, when the 5-year survival rate was about 58 percent [1] . More than eighty percent of children with cancer are preserved in high-income countries, but in many low-income and middle-income countries (L&MICs), only 20% are cured. The reasons for lesser survival rates in L&MICs include an incapability to attain an accurate diagnosis, inaccessible therapy, abandonment of treatment death from toxicity (side effects), and excess relapse, in part due to lack of access to essential medicines and technologies addressing each of these gaps expands survival and can be highly cost-effective [2, 3] . In the study of childhood cancer survivors and health outcomes over the last ten years in Children's Cancer Hospital 57357 Egypt (CCHE), to determine the variations in survival by demographic, and cancer type. A total of 15,997 children with cancer were analyzed; 58% of children were males and 42% of them were females. Nearly half of the children (48%) were in the youngest age group (0–4 years). Fifty-nine percent of the children had solid tumors, and 41% had hematologic malignancies. The most common cancers were leukemia, lymphoma, central nervous system (CNS) tumors, and neuroblastoma. The survival rate was calculated for 14,553 children, representing 92.2% of the full study population [4] .