Associate Professor Fairfield University, Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies Stratford, Connecticut, United States
Title: Acknowledging and Supporting Bereaved Fathers
Abstract : A child’s death is a traumatic and life-changing event for parents regardless of the cause. Bereaved parents are at high risk for poor physical, mental, and social heath outcomes. While bereavement literature provides growing insight, research to understand the impact of a child’s death on parents’ well-being, to improve coping, and to determine what emotional support is most effective in the wake of such devastating loss is insufficient to guide best evidence-based practices. The Pediatric Palliative Care Research Network identified bereavement as a research priority in need of further exploration to better understand family impact and facilitate coping. Research predominately focuses on mothers’ experience, while fathers have been woefully underrepresented creating a historical blind spot in nursing education and practice. Fathers’ perspectives are essential in order for nurses to respond in appropriate ways that promote health. This study aimed to describe fathers’ lived experience of bereavement after a child’s death. Heideggerian phenomenology provided the philosophical underpinnings. Van Manen’s method guided data collection and analysis. Six of the eleven participating fathers from the United States and Canada experienced child loss due to cancer. Through conversational interviews, fathers shared what it has been like for them since their child’s death. The researcher transcribed audio-recorded phone interviews verbatim, documented field notes, wrote analytic memos, and used multiple strategies to ensure trustworthiness of findings. Six essential themes emerged to unveil a wholistic structure of bereavement, which captured the meaning of fathers’ experience in such a way that nurses could grasp its nature unlike ever before. Findings amplify fathers’ voice. It is important for pediatric oncology nurses to reflect upon fathers’ bereavement, acknowledge fathers’ loss, and encourage open communication with fathers. By implementing fathers’ recommendations, nurses can champion health by providing and facilitating supportive care for fathers in their bereavement journey.
