Parental Grief Following the Death of a Child from Cancer: The Ongoing Odyssey

Snaman, Jennifer M.; Kaye, Erica C.; Torres, Carlos; Gibson, Deborah; Baker, Justin N.

doi:10.1002/pbc.26046

Cited by 51 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…They remember pleasant times and reflect on regrettable circumstances. These thoughts and emotions have an influence on the grieving process and on the living 1‐3 . Less is known about their content, or impact of regret, which is this study's focus.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

If only I could turn back time—Regret in bereaved parents

Sim

Heuse

Weigel

et al. 2020

Pediatric Blood & Cancer

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Introduction:Regret about loss is one of the most intense types of regret experienced in life. Little is known about the bereavement regret of parents whose child has died of cancer. Although knowledge about parents' experiences after their child's death is vital for supporting these families, parents' regret is mostly hidden from the treating clinical staff. This study aimed to explore these parents' regret themes and their impact on their future lives.Methods: An explorative questionnaire was sent to bereaved parents who lost a child to cancer. A total of 26 parents responded to the questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method.Results: Regret experiences were shared by almost all participants. The focus of regret issues include parenting and interaction with the child, reflection on existing values, dealing with the disease, and neglecting the remaining siblings. The regret experience had an impact on prioritizing values, future lifestyle and contacts. Conclusions:Regret seems to be a general phenomenon among bereaved parents and strongly influences the grieving process, in the sense of reflecting on past experiences to reorient for future actions. As this study was explorative, it is significant toward deepening the understanding of bereavement regret in future. These insights are crucial when working with affected families to help them decide important issues they can care about now and will not regret later. K E Y W O R D Sbereavement, palliative, psychosocial, qualitative study, regret

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

If only I could turn back time—Regret in bereaved parents

Sim

Heuse

Weigel

et al. 2020

Pediatric Blood & Cancer

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Moreover, participation in this training not only benefitted the trainees; bereaved parents themselves stated benefits from participation. Previous work with this and other groups of bereaved parents has revealed that telling their child's story is an important component of personal bereavement and meaning‐making : “…You find things that, through your grief journey, hopefully, you can find things that bring meaning to what you've experienced and what you've been through.” Parents reported that this training program provided them with an invaluable opportunity to enhance their child's legacy by teaching future physicians the requisite skills by which to improve communication with patients and families. Our findings corroborate prior research in which bereaved parents played a beneficial role in the training of care providers, and further suggest that the participation of bereaved parents in educational sessions may contribute to positive grief adjustment and facilitate meaning‐making for bereaved parent educators as well.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…important component of personal bereavement and meaning-making 28 : "…You find things that, through your grief journey, hopefully, you can find things that bring meaning to what you've experienced and what you've been through." Parents reported that this training program provided them with an invaluable opportunity to enhance their child's legacy by teaching future physicians the requisite skills by which to improve communication with patients and families.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Going straight to the source: A pilot study of bereaved parent‐facilitated communication training for pediatric subspecialty fellows

Snaman,

Kaye,

Cunningham

et al. 2016

Pediatric Blood & Cancer

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“…For parents, serious long term physical and mental morbidity have been reported in the literature. 15-18 For staff, when the death was perceived as low quality, 20% of the responders to the survey reported that they had unresolved feelings or stress from the event. This finding is consistent with research on caregiver distress with end of life care and the serious long term outcomes for the caregiver such as burn out, depression and compassion fatigue.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Does the Staff Think?

Bennett

Proudfoot

2016

J Hosp Palliat Nurs

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In an effort to improve the care of a dying child in the hospital, research was conducted to identify factors associated with the staff's perception of high-quality dying and death. The research used a unique electronic survey that was administered to clinical staff caring for children within the final 3 days of their life in the hospital. Positive death experiences were associated with absence of patient pain, dyspnea, anxiety, or agitation and the presence of spiritual, psychological, and culturally appropriate care for the patient and family. A positive correlation with quality was noted if there was clarity about goals of care and appropriate directives were in place to alleviate suffering. When clinicians felt their needs were met and they had more end-of-life education, they also perceived the quality of the experience as higher and had less distress from the event. Variability in perceived quality of the death experience was noted between different units of the hospital. Providing a supportive environment for pediatric deaths is enhanced by ensuring certain processes are in place and clinicians have the education and support to deliver high-quality care at the end of life.

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Parental Grief Following the Death of a Child from Cancer: The Ongoing Odyssey

Cited by 51 publications

References 40 publications

If only I could turn back time—Regret in bereaved parents

If only I could turn back time—Regret in bereaved parents

Going straight to the source: A pilot study of bereaved parent‐facilitated communication training for pediatric subspecialty fellows

What Does the Staff Think?

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