578 Childhood Burn Injuries: The Parent Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S131-S131
Author(s):  
Dana R Dillard ◽  
Stacey R Kolomer

Abstract Introduction Interventions for burn-injured children (BIC) largely focus on the child with the physical injury while consideration for family systems appears incidental. This study aimed to gain insight into the perspectives and needs of parents/caregivers of pediatric burn patients (PPBP). When considering BIC within the context of a family system, it is reasonable to expect the injury to engulf everyone. The literature emphasizes the acute and lasting physical and emotional impact of burns. Moreover, research suggests PPBP experience an emotional response to the incident that is often complicated by physical absence from their other uninjured children. Thus, this exploratory study fills a gap by engaging the unique perspective of the PPBP and posits direct implications for essential program enhancement/development. Methods PPBP attending a family program participated in semi-structured interviews (N=11) guided by the research question: What are the experiences of PPBP? Participants’ self-identified as African American (n=4), Caucasian (n=5), and Latino (n=2). Age ranged from 29 to 48 (M=38.36, SD=6.14). Interviews involved queries regarding the burn incident, from injury to present (M=7.12 years, SD=4.61), including support received, what they wish people understood about the experience, and ideas for programming. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Data were analyzed using van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Results Findings supported PPBP’s unique experience coalescing into one theme—the never-ending trip from hell—conceptualized as, “I didn’t mean to get here—none of this is familiar and I can’t find anyone I know. What’s going on and when will it be over?” Mutual painful insights were parental guilt, sensory experiences related to the acute incident and aftercare, unknown prognosis and medical treatment expectations, physical/emotional health problems, family members insensitivity, managing the cruelty of others, isolation, marital strains, and sibling tensions. Families also reported positive outcomes: strength of informal support networks, empowerment through educating others, and creating new allies. PPBP emphasized the benefits associated with meeting other families who also endured a burn injury and the importance of mutual support. Conclusions Programs should address the needs of all family members, not just BIC. In order to mitigate the impact of burn trauma, the family system impact remains a critical primary consideration for research and interventions. Applicability of Research to Practice Findings can contribute to program planning with increased consideration of the family system. As a result of findings from this study, siblings are now included in a summer camp program historically serving only BIC.

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S21-S21
Author(s):  
Dana R Dillard

Abstract Introduction When considering burn-injured children as part of a larger family unit, it is expected their injury will stress the system; yet the focus has mainly been on the injured child and treated as incidental for the family. Though research on the family is evolving, less is known from the uninjured sibling perspective. Sibling relationships have a unique impact on development. This study aimed to understand the experience of growing up with a burn-injured sibling in childhood, with attention to how identity was shaped. Acquiring knowledge from uninjured siblings will facilitate a more integrative understanding and holistic approach to aid families. Thus, this exploratory study fills a gap by engaging the uninjured sibling’s perspective with implications for program enhancement/development. Methods Narrative inquiry was utilized to explicate the narratives of adults who grew up with a burn-injured sibling in childhood via semi-structured interviews (N=7). The research questions were: 1) What are the experiences, or stories, of identified adults whose sibling experienced a burn injury? 2) What do the narratives of identified adults whose sibling experienced a burn injury reveal about how their identities were shaped? 3) What are the implications for program/service development and/or enhancement elucidated by identified adults whose sibling experienced a burn injury? A purposeful criterion sampling method was used, but challenges accessing participants resulted in sequential and emergence-driven strategies. Participants’ self-identified as Caucasian (n=7), female (n=4), and male (n=3). Age ranged from 20 to 57 (M=33.14, SD=14.32) at the time of the interview and 0 to 13 (M=5.25, SD=4.25) at the time of their siblings’ injury. Interviews queried the burn incident, family relations, communication, and support received. Riessman’s thematic approach to narrative inquiry was employed for analysis. Results Findings supported five themes: 1) separation and alternative caregiving, 2) altered interactions and ambivalent roles, 3) (r)evolving emotional pain, 4) communication concerns, and 5) identity through autobiographical reasoning. The data suggest uninjured siblings have their own unique narratives that have failed to be acknowledged in research and practice, though identity clarity and meaning-making were articulated in their reflections. Moreover, findings support consideration of many experiences as a primary trauma. Conclusions The needs of uninjured siblings—specifically related to inclusion, identity, and resource acquisition—should be addressed to mitigate the impact of burn trauma. The family system remains a critical area for research and program enhancement/development. Applicability of Research to Practice Findings can contribute to program planning for the family with increased attention to the uninjured sibling’s experience and concern for their specific needs.


2021 ◽  
pp. 136749352110399
Author(s):  
Stephanie Allen ◽  
Stephen K Bradley ◽  
Eileen Savage

Parent programmes are often used in the clinical management of children with ADHD. Research into parent programmes has predominantly been concerned with their effectiveness and much less attention has been paid to the impact that they may be having on the family and the inter-relationships between family members. This study explores the perspectives and experiences of parents of children with ADHD, who participated in a parent programme, including its impact on the family unit. A purposive sample of six mothers of children with ADHD who completed a 1-2-3 Magic parent programme in Ireland was invited to take part in this qualitative study. Data were collected by means of individual in-depth, semi-structured interviews and a narrative inquiry approach further informed analysis of the interview data. Two major narrative constructions of experience: ‘parent programme as positive’ and ‘parent programme as negative’ were identified. Outcomes from this study illustrated some unintended consequences caused by the parent programme (i.e. sibling rivalry and conflict arising between family members). Mothers believed that the parent programme was a beneficial intervention, but it was not without its flaws and they felt it was helpful for their family when used in conjunction with other supports and mediations.


2020 ◽  
Vol Volume 4 (Issue 3) ◽  
pp. 192-207
Author(s):  
Dr. Muhammad Shabbir Sarwar ◽  
Humara Gulzar ◽  
Muhammad Ahsan Bhatti

The purpose of this research paper is to explore the negative relationship between mobile phone and family life as well as negative impact of mobile phone usage on family life norms and traditions. The study is based on data collected through mixed method i.e. survey of a random sample of 1300 people and structured interviews conducted with a sub-sample of 13 people in Lahore, Pakistan. The study found that mobile phone is negatively affecting the family life due to its massive usage during family socialization time. The quantitative analysis found that over 85% of respondents use mobile phone for communication with the people other than their family members when they are with their family; over 50% make calls to others during their family time; 83% make SMS; 75 feel that they ignore their family due to cell phone; 86% thinks that mobile has influenced their family time face-to-face socialization negatively and 91% said that they exchanged harsh words with their family members for at least once or more due to using mobile phone during family time. The study reveals that male members of the traditional families are more responsible for using mobile phone during family time and damaging family traditions as compared to the female members. However, parents remain very concerned about the possibilities of misuse of mobile phone by female teenagers of the family. In most cases family elders were annoyed with the youth for adopting this change in their behaviors damaging the family traditions.


Author(s):  
Bryan D. Carter ◽  
William G. Kronenberger ◽  
Eric L. Scott ◽  
Christine E. Brady

Session 8 is again focused primarily on family communication and dynamics for the purposes of identifying and addressing parenting behaviors and parent–teen dynamics that may unwittingly undermining teen confidence in becoming more independent in managing their illness and lifestyle. The clinician engages the family in a discussion of parental and teen roles within the family system and an examination of the impact of the teen’s illness on family members’ roles. Behavioral family systems concepts of “misguided support” and “strong beliefs” that family members hold, but that inadvertently may be serving to maintain a dependent or even overprotective/enmeshed family dynamic, are introduced and applied to the family situation, along with strategies for moving these dynamics in a more independence-engendering direction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 205031212110324
Author(s):  
Nwamaka A Elom ◽  
Ignatius O Nwimo ◽  
Sampson Omena Elom ◽  
Deborah N Alegu ◽  
Eunice N Afoke ◽  
...  

Background: Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has continued to plague households, leading to lockdown problems. Adopting appropriate mitigation strategies can reduce the impact on family members. Purpose: To assess the emotional impact of COVID-19 epidemic lockdown and mitigation measures among households in Ebonyi State. Methods: Cross-sectional survey design was used to study 516 participants. Emotional impact of COVID-19 lockdown ( r = 0.73) and mitigation options ( r = 0.92) questionnaire was used for data collection. Of the 516 copies of the questionnaire distributed, 493 copies (95.5% return rate) were used for data analysis. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, standard deviations, and t-tests. Results: The data showed the emotional impact of the COVID-19 epidemic was high (2.97 ± 0.48) on households. They embraced friendly communication and communication with their partners, maintaining regular contact with their loved ones by phone, email, social media, or video conference to alleviate the COVID-19 lockdown. No significant differences were found in the emotional impact for location ( p > 0.05). Significant differences were not observed in many gender-based mitigation options. Conversely, a significant difference existed in the mitigation options based on location ( t = 3.143, p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in friendly interactions and communication with partners ( t = 0.354, p > 0.05), finding opportunities to develop excellent and promising news and images ( t = 0.770, p > 0.05) and maintaining regular communication with loved ones via phone, email, social media, and video conference ( t = 0.448, p > 0.05). Conclusion: The emotional impact of COVID-19 confinement was significant on family life and was more prevalent among men and urban dwellers. There is need to organise an awareness campaign on fundamental ways to overcome emotional distress using media targeting family members to promote emotional health.


2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-76
Author(s):  
Johannes Jungbauer ◽  
Jutta Kinzel-Senkbeil ◽  
Juliane Kuhn ◽  
Albert Lenz

Objective: This study aims at investigating the impact of a parental schizophrenia on the family members, their everyday life and their relations. For this purpose, we conduct qualitative interviews with mothers and fathers suffering from schizophrenia, their spouses and children. Methods: Interview data is analyzed using casereconstructive as well as content analysis methods. Results: Although results illustrate a great variety of family constellations and burdening circumstances, there are a number of typical patterns: Having children is perceived by affected parents in an ambiguous manner, i.e. as a resource as well as a distress. Relationships of couples and families are often impaired, resulting in a high risk of abandonment of relationships. At the same time, family members strive for normality in everyday life. Normalisation and avoidance strategies can bring about that the schizophrenia becomes a taboo issue within the family. Thus, with regard to their parent’s illness, many of the children are insufficiently informed. Often, the children are overstrained by this situation and, in turn, may develop behaviour disorders, anxiety, or depression. Discussion: In sum, schizophrenia can be considered as a “family disease” as it strongly affects the whole family system. Hence, it is necessary to provide preventive help offers for affected parents, their spouses and children. For delivering support, youth welfare and public health services should cooperate closely. Zusammenfassung Fragestellung: In diesem Beitrag werden Ergebnisse einer fallrekonstruktiven Studie vorgestellt, bei der Familien mit einem schizophren erkrankten Elternteil befragt wurden. Dabei sollte untersucht wurden, wie sich die Schizophrenie auf die Familienmitglieder, ihren Alltag und ihre Beziehungen auswirkt. Methodik: Die Auswertung erfolgte sowohl fall- als auch themenbezogen, wobei inhaltsanalytische und fallrekonstruktive Verfahren eingesetzt wurden. Ergebnisse: Trotz der Vielfalt der familiären Konstellationen und Belastungslagen zeigte sich eine Reihe charakteristischer Muster. Kinder zu haben bedeutet für erkrankte Eltern, sowohl Ressourcen als auch Belastungen zu haben. Paar- und Familienbeziehungen sind oft stark beeinträchtigt und weisen ein hohes Risiko für Beziehungsabbrüche auf. Zugleich wird im Familienalltag eine Normalität jenseits der Erkrankung angestrebt und erlebt. Normalisierungs- und Vermeidungsstrategien können dazu beitragen, dass die Erkrankung zu einem Tabuthema wird. Viele Kinder sind daher unzureichend über die elterliche Schizophrenie informiert. Sie sind in dieser Situation oft überfordert und entwickeln ihrerseits Verhaltensauffälligkeiten, Ängste und Depressionen. Diskussion: Die Schizophrenie kann insofern als „Familienerkrankung“ gedeutet werden, als sie das gesamte Familiensystem beeinflusst, belastet und gefährdet. Aus diesem Grund sollten verstärkt familienorientierte Präventionsangebote bereitgestellt werden, wobei Gesundheitswesen und Jugendhilfe eng miteinander kooperieren sollten.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Elizabeth Fenwick

In light of the paucity of research investigating the impact on the family of parent-inclusive models of intervention for young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), this study explored the lived experience of families involved in the Social ABCs parent-mediated intervention for toddlers with ASD. Influenced by phenomenological inquiry, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven parents from six families. Parents were asked a range of broad open-ended questions, some of which were guided by the literature on family outcomes of early intervention for children with disabilities. Using thematic analysis, the findings revealed several themes that highlighted the impact of the Social ABCs intervention on the child, the parent, and the family as a system. Five themes are discussed as they provide insight into the lived experience of families involved in the intervention: impact on child, impact on parents, impact on the family system, feasibility of implementation, and reflections on the Social ABCs experience. These findings may be useful for informing practice, policy and program development related to early intervention for young children with ASD and their families.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Elizabeth Fenwick

In light of the paucity of research investigating the impact on the family of parent-inclusive models of intervention for young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), this study explored the lived experience of families involved in the Social ABCs parent-mediated intervention for toddlers with ASD. Influenced by phenomenological inquiry, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven parents from six families. Parents were asked a range of broad open-ended questions, some of which were guided by the literature on family outcomes of early intervention for children with disabilities. Using thematic analysis, the findings revealed several themes that highlighted the impact of the Social ABCs intervention on the child, the parent, and the family as a system. Five themes are discussed as they provide insight into the lived experience of families involved in the intervention: impact on child, impact on parents, impact on the family system, feasibility of implementation, and reflections on the Social ABCs experience. These findings may be useful for informing practice, policy and program development related to early intervention for young children with ASD and their families.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Tara Sims

BACKGROUND: The impact of paediatric upper limb difference may extend beyond the child themselves to their parents and other family members. Previous research has found that feelings of shock, numbness and loss are common amongst parents and that peer support can be a buffer against stress. OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to explore the experiences of parents of children with limb difference, and the role of services and prosthetic devices in these experiences. METHODS: Nine parents of children with limb difference participated in either a group (n= 2) or individual (n= 7) interview. RESULTS: Analysis of the interview transcripts revealed four themes – ‘grief and guilt’, ‘prosthesis as a tool for parental adjustment’, ‘support’ and ‘fun and humour’. CONCLUSIONS: Parents may employ coping strategies to help them adjust to their child’s limb difference, including use of a prosthesis, accessing support from statutory services and peers, and use of fun and humour within the family.


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