Research Article The Psychosocial Experience of Adolescents with Haematological Malignancies in Jordan: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Study Omar Al Omari 1,2 and Dianne Wynaden 2 1 Children and Young People’s Mental Health, Faculty of Nursing, Jerash University, P.O. Box 311, Jerash 26150, Jordan 2 School of Nursing and Midwifery, Curtin Health Innovation, Research Institute, Curtin University, GPO Box U 1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia Correspondence should be addressed to Omar Al Omari; al omari2000@yahoo.com Received 30 August 2013; Accepted 12 October 2013; Published 5 January 2014 Academic Editors: A. M. Mitchell and M. A. Rose Copyright © 2014 O. Al Omari and D. Wynaden. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Te qualitative research method of interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to explore the lived experience of 14 Jordanian adolescents with haematological malignancies. Tey were admitted to two hospitals in Jordan and were interviewed for this study twice during the frst six months afer receiving their diagnosis. Te results of this study revealed three themes: (1) Being in hospital, (2) Te changing self, and (3) Fearing the unknown. When the participants were hospitalised due to their illness they were removed from their families and friends and prevented from engaging in their normal daily routine. Participants also reported receiving limited emotional and psychological support from health team members during hospitalisation. From the onset of cancer treatments, the bio-psychosocial side efects of the chemotherapy became one of the most distressing factors for participants afecting all aspects of their life and generated uncertainty about their future. Te fndings add to existing understanding of the lived experiences of cancer patients and in particular Jordanian adolescents. Tey provide a valuable insight for clinicians into improvements in service delivery to this group of patients. 1. Introduction Jordan is located in the heart of the Middle East and has a population of approximately six million people with young people under the age of 18 years of age making up to 37% of the total population. Jordan has one of the most advanced health care services in the Arab region, and many people come from other Arab countries to receive high level tertiary care for illness such as heart disease and cancer [1]. In Jordan, a signifcant number of adolescents live with cancer [2]. In 2007, the rate of cancer for patients aged between 10 and 19 years was 132 new cases per 100,000 populations and the survival rate of these adolescents is poor when compared to their counterparts in other ages groups [3, 4]. When an adolescent is diagnosed with HMs, delays in treatment decrease the possibility of remission, worsen the condition, and increase the possibility of complications and death. However, treatment exposes the adolescent to a range of diferent physical, psychological, social, and/or spiritual experiences [5]. Teir lives and that of their family changed forever from the time the diagnosis is made [6, 7]. Te adolescent endures long periods of hospitalisation and invasive treatments [5, 7] as health care providers seek improved outcomes for their patient. Te adverse efects of this experience for the adolescent are alterations in their body image, low levels of self-esteems, decreased social relation- ships [7], poor peer acceptance, experiences of stigma, risks for depression, and abnormal levels of stress [8, 9]. During hospitalisation, they may also witness the death of other adolescents who had similar illnesses to themselves [10]. HMs also impact the social world of the adolescent; for example, many have decreased rates of school attendance [11, 12] and their illness impacts their educational outcomes and social development [13]. Many people in Jordan also believe cancer Hindawi Publishing Corporation e Scientific World Journal Volume 2014, Article ID 274036, 7 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/274036