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Communicating with young children who have a parent dying of a life-limiting illness: a qualitative systematic review of the experiences and impact on healthcare, social and spiritual care professionals.
- Source :
- BMC Palliative Care; 7/12/2022, Vol. 21 Issue 1, p1-12, 12p
- Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- Background: Healthcare professionals play a key role in interacting with children who have a parent with a life-limiting illness. While playing such a role can be challenging, not much is known about how such interactions impact these professionals and affect their ability to render support. Methods: Four databases were searched with the intention to conduct a qualitative systematic review. Articles were selected based on pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Their quality was assessed using the tool "Standard Quality Assessment Criteria for Evaluating Primary Research Papers from a Variety of Fields". Findings were analysed using thematic analysis techniques outlined by Thomas and Harden as well as Sandelowski and Barroso. Review was registered with the Review Registry database. Results: Three themes emerged – healthcare professionals' discomfort; their assumptions and actions; and potentiating workplace factors. The discomfort had several dimensions: fear of making a situation worse, concern of not being able to cope with emotionally charged situations, and internal conflict that arose when their values clashed with family dynamics. Conclusion: Healthcare professionals' sense of discomfort was very pronounced. This discomfort, together with their assumptions, could impact their ability to support children. The organisation played an important role, which was reflected in the work culture, workflow and ability to collaborate with other agencies involved in supporting children. The discomfort was mitigated by having more professional experience, workplace support systems and training on communicating with children. It was apparent that the individual professional did not work alone when supporting children but alongside others within an organisation. As such, issues raised in this review will benefit from multi-faceted solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- ONLINE information services
CINAHL database
PSYCHOLOGY information storage & retrieval systems
MEDICAL information storage & retrieval systems
SOCIAL support
TERMINALLY ill
ATTITUDES of medical personnel
SYSTEMATIC reviews
MEDICAL personnel
PATIENTS' families
QUALITATIVE research
CHILDREN of people with mental illness
MEDLINE
THEMATIC analysis
PALLIATIVE treatment
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1472684X
- Volume :
- 21
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- BMC Palliative Care
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 157929041
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-022-01007-1