Nursing student perceptions of hope in children: A qualitative descriptive study

Abstract

Hope has been linked to positive health outcomes in the literature. Hope is abstract, multidimensional, future-oriented, and occurs cognitively making it difficult to assess in children. Most of the research on hope has been conducted with adults and adolescents. Therefore, it is essential to analyze the concept of hope in children to provide nurses with tools to identify hope behaviors in children. The aim of this qualitative descriptive study was to describe hope behaviors in children from a nursing student perspective. Data were gathered from three focus groups (N = 19) of nursing students enrolled in a pediatric clinical rotation using a semistructured interview technique. Three themes of hope behaviors emerged from the three focus groups and were: (a) future oriented, (b) goal oriented-getting up and doing things, and (c) pathways thinking processes-getting from point A to point B. Healthcare providers should consider hope behavioral cues, which can warrant interventions to increase hope in their young patients. Current findings demonstrate the need for the development of hope interventions that involve younger patients, thereby making their effects more sustainable across the lifespan.

Waves of family hope: narratives of families in the context of pediatric chronic illness

“…From the point of view of psychology, hope may be related to resilience ( 13 ) . However, as it is a complex concept, there is no common definition to be applied universally ( 9 , 14 ) . In the pediatric context, recently a thematic synthesis of qualitative studies identified the experience of hope in families living with pediatric chronic illness ( 15 ) .…”