Understanding the Needs of Parents Who Have Experienced the Death of a Child

Abstract

The goals of investigators in previous studies of pediatric palliative care included: understanding the families utilizing services and the available services, documenting the families' satisfaction with the services, and documenting the needs of families who have experienced the death of a child. The investigator in the current study conducted an exploratory phenomenological study of the lived experiences of parents in west-central Wisconsin who have experienced the death of a child. The data was collected through a survey instrument comprised of statements of met need to rank along with open-ended questions to allow participants to describe their experience in more detail with examples. The investigator evaluated the surveys statistically and reviewed the narrative responses using problem-solving content analysis. The results of this study suggested that while the categories of need identified in previous research remained consistent across settings, parents experience and interpret these needs in their own unique way. The participants responded favorably to the meeting of the needs for quality of care while giving a mixed review to the meeting of needs in information and support. The exploratory nature of this study allowed the voices of these west-central Wisconsin parents to be heard