Findings highlight the necessity to train mental health professionals to provide individualized information; facilitate family communication; address the parents' guilt, ambivalence, meaning attributions that compromise adjustment; and support them through the challenges of parenting a son or daughter with psychosis.

The purpose of this study was to explore the sources, nature, and effectiveness of mutual support among nurses who are exposed to the death of children and to compare the experiences between a group of pediatric oncology nurses and a group of critical care nurses. Semistructured interviews were conducted with sixteen pediatric oncology nurses and twenty-three critical care nurses. Qualitative analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that (1) nurses relied more on their colleagues for support than on their relatives and friends; (2) the nature of the support they sought involved informational, clinical/practical, emotional, and meaning-making support; and (3) different forms of mutual support were encouraged in the two units, depending on individual needs and the unit's goals, philosophy, and implicit rules about expected behavior in the face of death and dying. Educational and clinical implications are briefly discussed.

No abstract

Preparatory grief, psychological distress, and physical symptoms had significant associations with perceptions of dignity among patients with advanced cancer. Clinicians should assess and attend to dignity-distressing factors in the care of patients with advanced cancer.