{
  "abstract": "Background: Pain is common in children with hematologic malignancies. It can be highly distressing and can shape how children feel and function during hospitalization. Children’s pain experiences are influenced not only by disease and treatment but also by developmental level, family context, language, and culture. However, little is known about how Tibetan children with hematologic malignancies experience and communicate pain in clinical settings. Aim: We aimed to explore the pain experiences of Tibetan children with hematologic malignancies and to inform culturally responsive pain assessment and nursing care. Methods: We used a descriptive phenomenological design. From February to March 2026, we purposively recruited 15 Tibetan children with hematologic malignancies from a pediatric hematology-oncology ward in Sichuan, China. Data were collected through play-based, semi-structured face-to-face interviews with children and analyzed using an adapted version of Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Results: Four themes were identified: (1) cultural and spiritual interpretations of pain, including silent endurance and religious or traditional coping; (2) linguistic and communicative constraints in pain expression, including limited Mandarin vocabulary and indirect expression of discomfort; (3) family-centered dimensions of pain experience, including emotional security through family presence, relational continuity through family accompaniment, and familiar family-based comfort practices; and (4) hospitalization-related disruptions to everyday social life, including disrupted schooling and peer contact and concerns about illness disclosure and social isolation. Conclusions: The findings suggest that culturally responsive pain assessment may benefit from child-centered communication, attention to indirect and nonverbal expressions of pain, and recognition of the supportive role of family relationships and familiar comfort practices.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Cancer Center, Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China",
    "Department of Oncology, Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China",
    "Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China",
    "Department of Nursing, Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yi Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yu Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Juan Zhou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Huarong Pu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jinglan Zhang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8rg9838b9z8tf.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0360911",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "8rg9838b9z8tf",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360911",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2735|Pediatric Pain Management Techniques"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Clinical medicine/Signs and symptoms/Pain"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Hematology/Hematologic cancers and related disorders"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Oncology/Cancer treatment"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Oncology/Cancers and neoplasms/Hematologic cancers and related disorders"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Oncology/Pediatric oncology"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Pediatrics"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Pediatrics/Pediatric oncology"
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      "plos",
      "/People and places/Population groupings/Age groups/Children"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/People and places/Population groupings/Ethnicities/Asian people/Tibetan people"
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      "plos",
      "/People and places/Population groupings/Families/Children"
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      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Sociology/Culture"
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  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0360911&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-16",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8rg9838b9z8tf.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:23Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0360911",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360911"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:oncology",
      "subfield": "oncology"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:pediatrics",
      "subfield": "reproductive-child"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Pain experiences of Tibetan children with hematologic malignancies in China: A descriptive phenomenological study",
  "title_text": "Pain experiences of Tibetan children with hematologic malignancies in China: A descriptive phenomenological study",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:23Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8rg9838b9z8tf",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}