Fathers' experiences in the neonatal intensive care unit: a search for control.
Humans; Infant, Newborn; Critical Illness; Male; Professional-Family Relations; Communication; Qualitative Research; Interviews as Topic; Religion; Stress, Psychological; Infant, Premature; Father-Child Relations; *Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; *Fathers/px [Psychology]; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal/og [Organization & Administration]; *Internal-External Control
OBJECTIVE: This qualitative study aimed at understanding the experiences of fathers of very ill neonates in the NICU., METHODS: Sixteen fathers of very ill and/or very preterm infants who had been in the NICU for >30 days were interviewed by a male physician. Fathers were asked about their level of comfort with or concerns about staff communication regarding their infant, about accessing information, and about more general perceptions of their experience in the neonatal intensive care unit. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed for analysis. Coding used content analysis with construction of themes by 3 researchers., RESULTS: The overarching theme for fathers was a sense of lack of control. Their world view, as a "backdrop" theme, provided context for all of the themes. Four other interrelated subthemes were identified, including information; communication, particularly with the health care team; fathers' various roles; and external activities. Fathers reported that relationships with friends/family/health care team, receiving information consistently, and receiving short written materials on common conditions were ways of giving them support. The fathers said that speaking to a male physician was a positive and useful experience., CONCLUSIONS: Fathers experience a sense of lack of control when they have an extremely ill infant in the NICU. Specific activities help fathers regain a sense of control and help them fulfill their various roles of protectors, fathers, partners, and breadwinners. Understanding these experiences helps the health care team offer targeted supports for fathers in the NICU.
Arockiasamy, Vincent; Holsti, Liisa; Albersheim, Susan
Pediatrics
2008
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2007-1005" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1542/peds.2007-1005</a>
Gender Differences in Depressive Symptoms Following Child Death in Later
Child; Female; Male; Prognosis; United States; Risk Factors; Bereavement; Parent-Child Relations; Adult; Age Factors; Mortality; Sex Factors; Middle Age; Adaptation Psychological; Fathers; Aged; Depression; Mother-Child Relations; Mothers; Human; Father-Child Relations; Evaluation; Only Child; Funding Source; Trends; Vulnerability; Psychosocial Factors; Comparative Studies; Recovery; In Adulthood; In Middle Age; In Old Age
Objectives: This study examined short- and long-term psychological adjustment to parental bereavement in later life for mothers and fathers. Methods: Using 9 waves of data from the United States (1998-2014 Health and Retirement Study), I estimated trajectories of mothers' and fathers' depressive symptoms surrounding child death in later life, highlighting gender differences in adjustment. Moderation analyses were performed to uncover heterogeneous trajectories across parental characteristics. Results: Mothers were more likely to experience child death and reported higher depressive symptoms prior to parental bereavement than fathers. Mothers and fathers who lost a child reported an increase in depressive symptoms that diminished over time. The short-term elevation in depressive symptoms was marginally greater for mothers than fathers, but depressive symptoms declined at a faster rate for mothers than fathers in the years following the death. These counterbalancing changes resulted in mothers and fathers returning to their respective prebereavement levels of depressive symptoms between 2 and 4 years postbereavement. Parental age moderated trajectories distinctly by gender, and the presence of surviving children buffered the impact of child death on depressive symptoms for mothers but not fathers. Discussion: Mothers more often experience child death in later life and their adjustment process differs from that of fathers, underscoring the salience of gender in shaping how older parents respond to the death of a child. Older parents and mothers without surviving children are vulnerable to prolonged elevations in depressive symptoms following the death of a child in later life.
Mellencamp KA
Journals of Gerontology: Series B
2023
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbac189" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1093/geronb/gbac189</a>
Having Therapeutic Conversations With Fathers Grieving the Death of a Child
Child; Bereavement; Professional-Family Relations; Conversation; Father-Child Relations; Grief; Death -- In Infancy and Childhood; Fathers -- Psychosocial Factors; Support Psychosocial -- Methods
A child's death is a traumatic life experience for parents. Health-care professionals (HCPs) have sought guidance on how to intervene with grieving parents, particularly with fathers. Having therapeutic conversations is an effective way for HCPs to support grieving fathers. In our previous study, fathers identified core beliefs that influenced their experience of grief and coping. In this article, the Illness Beliefs Model was integrated with the findings to provide a framework for interventions to create open conversations, ease fathers' suffering, and thereby help their spouse and family suffering as well. This article will guide HCPs to engage in therapeutic conversations to support bereaved fathers.
Martinez AM; Castiglione S; Dupuis F; Legault A; Proulx MC; Carnevale F
Omega: Journal of Death & Dying
2021
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/0030222819825916" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1177/0030222819825916</a>
A Qualitative Investigation of Fathers' Experiences of Looking After a Child with a Life-Limiting Illness, In Process and In Retrospect
Child; Female; Humans; Male; Grief; Adult; Attitude to Death; Professional-Family Relations; Life Change Events; Adaptation; Psychological; Caregivers/psychology; Palliative Care/psychology; social support; Gender Identity; Interview; Chronic Disease/psychology; Terminal Care/psychology; Marriage/psychology; Home Nursing/psychology; Fathers/psychology; father experience; Father-Child Relations
Child life-limiting illnesses are those from which there is no reasonable hope of cure and from which children will die. Only recently have these illnesses been recognized as a discrete category and thus relatively little research has focused specifically upon this group of children and their families. This study utilized qualitative methods to investigate the experience of fathers, a group who are often under-represented in child illness research. The research aim was to gain an understanding of fathers' experiences of having a child with a life-limiting illness, its impact upon them, and their perceptions of service provision. The data from eight interviews was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four main themes emerged highlighting the fathers' feeling that their world had been turned upside down, how they lived with the knowledge their child would die, how men perceive themselves as different from women, and the fathers' wish to contribute to changing and improving how other fathers might cope with a child with a life-limiting illness. The results are discussed particularly in relation to gender issues. Various implications for clinical practice and service provision are considered. Suggestions are also made for future research.
2007
Ware J; Raval H
Clinical Child Psychology And Psychiatry
2007
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
Journal Article
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/1359104507080981" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1177/1359104507080981</a>
Father to father: focus groups of fathers of children with cancer
Child; Female; Humans; Male; United States; Adult; Middle Aged; Focus Groups; Social Work; Cost of Illness; adolescent; Preschool; social support; caregivers; Parent caregivers; Neoplasms/nursing/psychology; Father-Child Relations
Caring for a child with cancer is a demanding experience for both parents, yet most research focuses on mothers. In this paper, we present the findings of a secondary analysis of data from a study in which the care-giving experience of fathers is investigated. In two focus groups, ten fathers provided first-hand information about caring for a child with cancer and its impact on their families. In addition, the findings demonstrate how these men through sharing a deeply meaningful and challenging experience offered mutual support and caring. This paper describes the fathers' remarkable and unexpected exchange. Social work implications are also addressed.
2003
Jones JB; Neil-Urban S
Social Work In Health Care
2003
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
Journal Article
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1300/j010v37n01_03" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">10.1300/j010v37n01_03</a>