What Parents of Seriously Ill Children Value: Parent-to-Parent Connection and Mentorship

• Published in: Omega: Journal of Death and Dying 2007-01, Vol.55 (2), p.117-130
• Main Author: Konrad, Shelley Cohen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological - physiology; Adolescent; Child; Child Advocacy - psychology; Child, Preschool; Children; Critical Illness - psychology; Dying; Dying children; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Interpersonal Relations; Life meaning; Mentoring; Mentors - psychology; Mothers; Mothers - psychology; Parental support; Parents; Parents - psychology; Patient Advocacy - psychology; Peer Relations; Personal Satisfaction; Professional-Family Relations; Quality of Life - psychology; Self Help Groups; Sick children; Social Support; Terminally Ill - psychology
• ISSN: 0030-2228; 1541-3764
• DOI: 10.2190/OM.55.2.b

The value of parent-to-parent support has been noted in research with parents of children who have a range of special needs and chronic medical conditions, however, less is known about the benefit of such mentorship for parents caring for seriously ill and dying children. Findings from a qualitative study with mothers of seriously ill children, including those whose children had died, provided rich and detailed information about the personal and practical resources they received from other parents. Personal recommendations to parents by parents included the value of seeking out mentorship and appreciating the small things in life, while practical suggestions encompassed encouraging parents to become informed and to advocate for their children's best interests. Mothers also identified professionals with end-of-life training as instrumental agents of support.