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BMC Palliative Care
Published in: BMC Palliative Care 1/2020

Open Access 01-12-2020 | Care | Research article

Trauma to Transformation: the lived experience of bereaved parents of children with chronic life-threatening illnesses in Singapore

Authors: Oindrila Dutta, Geraldine Tan-Ho, Ping Ying Choo, Xinyi Casuarine Low, Poh Heng Chong, Carolyn Ng, Sashikumar Ganapathy, Andy Hau Yan Ho

Published in: BMC Palliative Care | Issue 1/2020

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Abstract

Background

In 2016, over 6.6 million children died globally, and 245 children died in Singapore. Chronic illnesses are prevalent causes of child mortality around the world. Despite growing research that examines the lived experience of parents bereaved by their child’s chronic life-threatening illness, there is no such study within the Asian context.

Methods

To bridge this knowledge gap, meaning-oriented, strength-focused interviews were conducted with 25 parental units (i.e. 6 couples, 13 lone mothers, 4 lone fathers, and 2 primary parental figures) who lost their child to chronic life-threatening illness in Singapore (N = 31), including those of Chinese (n = 17), Malay (n = 10) and Indian ethnicities (n = 4), between August 2017 and April 2018.

Results

Data analysis adhering to the grounded theory approach revealed 7 themes and 25 sub-themes that were organized into a Trauma-to-Transformation Model of Parental Bereavement. This model shows the major milestones in participants’ lived experience of their child’s chronic life-threatening illness and death, starting from the diagnosis of their child’s chronic life-threatening illness and the subsequent emotional turmoil (Theme 1), the mourning of their child’s death and the losses which accompanied the death (Theme 3) and participants’ experience of posttraumatic growth through reflection of their journey of caregiving and child loss (Theme 5). The model further describes the deliberate behaviors or ‘rituals’ that helped participants to regain power over their lives (Theme 2), sustain an intimate bond with their child beyond death (Theme 4), and transcend their loss by deriving positive outcomes from their experience (Theme 6). Finally, the model denotes that the lived experiences and well-being of participants were embedded within the health-and-social-care ecosystem, and in turn impacted by it (Theme 7).

Conclusion

These themes and their corresponding sub-themes are discussed, with recommendations for enhancing culturally sensitive support services for grieving Asian parents around the globe.
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Metadata
Title
Trauma to Transformation: the lived experience of bereaved parents of children with chronic life-threatening illnesses in Singapore
Authors
Oindrila Dutta
Geraldine Tan-Ho
Ping Ying Choo
Xinyi Casuarine Low
Poh Heng Chong
Carolyn Ng
Sashikumar Ganapathy
Andy Hau Yan Ho
Publication date
01-12-2020
Publisher
BioMed Central
Keyword
Care
Published in
BMC Palliative Care / Issue 1/2020
Electronic ISSN: 1472-684X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-020-00555-8

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