Stepping Up and Stepping In: Exploring the Role of Nurses in Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Abstract

This study focused on the experiences of grandparents raising grandchildren in rural, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Termed grand-families, there are numerous reasons why grandparents must step up and step in to care for their grandchildren. Often these reasons are related to their adult children’s struggles with mental illness and substance use disorders. Adopting Clandinin and Connelly’s approach to narrative inquiry, we present findings from the conversational interviews conducted with 12 grandparents raising their grandchildren. Interview data were analyzed through the narrative dimensions of time, place, and relationship. Findings are presented as rich narratives which illuminate the evolution and storied experiences of grand-families. Particularly revealing are the challenges grandparents face as they navigate various systems, including health care, that do not acknowledge the uniqueness of their family form. Nurses work with grand-families across varied clinical settings. Grounded within the philosophy of Patient and Family Centered Care and family nursing theory, this article offers recommendations for supportive interventions that nurses can implement when caring for grand-families across clinical settings. This study has the potential to facilitate the development of evidence-based supports and services, which are responsive to the needs, realities, and complexities of grand-families.

Understanding and Serving All Families: Introduction to the Special Issue on Supporting Structurally Diverse Families

“…These findings demonstrate the critical role of stepparent–stepchild relationships (family members who are not always appropriately included in health care services, and sometimes pushed out; Kelly & Ganong, 2011; Toelen et al, 2022). Murray and colleagues (2022) highlight several of the challenges and opportunities grandparents experience when transitioning to become the primary caregiver for their grandchildren in a grandfamily household. Particularly relevant to family nurses are findings regarding the frequent experiences of frustration, misunderstanding, and disrespect grandparents reported when attempting to interact with health care systems and other social services.…”