Experiences of preparing children for a death of an important adult during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed methods study

Knowledge and practices of youth awareness on death and dying in school settings: a systematic scoping review protocol

BACKGROUND

Awareness-raising and education have been identified as strategies to counter the taboo surrounding death and dying. As the favoured venue for youth education, schools have an essential role to play in informing future decision-makers. However, school workers are not comfortable addressing the subjects of death and dying, which, unlike other social issues, have no guidelines to influence awareness of these subjects in youth.

OBJECTIVES

To systematically explore the knowledge and practices on raising awareness about death and dying in schools, the viewpoints of the people involved (young people, school workers; parents), and the factors that either promote or hinder awareness practices.

METHOD

The scoping review method of Levac and Colquhoun (Implement Sci 5(1):69, 2010) will be used. Using a combination of keywords and descriptors, a body of literature will be identified through 15 databases and through grey literature searches, manual searches, consultation of key collaborators, and the list of relevant literature. Publications since 2009 will be selected if they relate directly to awareness-raising about death and dying in schools. Writings will be selected and extracted by two independent people, and conflicts resolved by consensus. The extracted data will be synthesized using a thematic analysis method. Experts from a variety of disciplines (health sciences, humanities, social sciences, and education) will be consulted to enhance the interpretation of the preliminary results. Results will be presented in narrative form and will include tables and diagrams.

CONCLUSION

The results of this scoping review will contribute to the development of educational practices adapted to young people and to the identification of future avenues of research on awareness of death and dying.

The Role of Pediatric Psychologists in Critical Care: Lessons Learned and Future Directions in Integrating Mental Health Care Into PICUs

Pediatric psychologists are essential staff in the PICU. Their role in caring for critically ill children aligns with clinical practice guidelines for the mental health care needs of this population of patients. This article highlights the role of pediatric psychology in the PICU through illustrative case examples. We discuss lessons learned and future directions for the development and provision of mental health services in PICUs. We address relevant ways for critical care providers to understand the importance of evidence-based psychological care and advocate for the inclusion of psychologists on multidisciplinary PICU teams. As the critical care field continues to focus on an improved understanding of post-intensive care syndrome in pediatrics and the psychological needs of critical care patients, it will be important to consider the vital roles of psychologists and to advocate for improved integration of mental health care in PICUs.

Public Opinions About Palliative and End-of-Life Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Twitter-Based Content Analysis

BACKGROUND

Palliative and end-of-life care (PEoLC) played a critical role in relieving distress and providing grief support in response to the heavy toll caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about public opinions concerning PEoLC during the pandemic. Given that social media have the potential to collect real-time public opinions, an analysis of this evidence is vital to guide future policy-making.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to use social media data to investigate real-time public opinions regarding PEoLC during the COVID-19 crisis and explore the impact of vaccination programs on public opinions about PEoLC.

METHODS

This Twitter-based study explored tweets across 3 English-speaking countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. From October 2020 to March 2021, a total of 7951 PEoLC-related tweets with geographic tags were retrieved and identified from a large-scale COVID-19 Twitter data set through the Twitter application programming interface. Topic modeling realized through a pointwise mutual information-based co-occurrence network and Louvain modularity was used to examine latent topics across the 3 countries and across 2 time periods (pre- and postvaccination program periods).

RESULTS

Commonalities and regional differences among PEoLC topics in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada were identified specifically: cancer care and care facilities were of common interest to the public across the 3 countries during the pandemic; the public expressed positive attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine and highlighted the protection it affords to PEoLC professionals; and although Twitter users shared their personal experiences about PEoLC in the web-based community during the pandemic, this was more prominent in the United States and Canada. The implementation of the vaccination programs raised the profile of the vaccine discussion; however, this did not influence public opinions about PEoLC.

CONCLUSIONS

Public opinions on Twitter reflected a need for enhanced PEoLC services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The insignificant impact of the vaccination program on public discussion on social media indicated that public concerns regarding PEoLC continued to persist even after the vaccination efforts. Insights gleaned from public opinions regarding PEoLC could provide some clues for policy makers on how to ensure high-quality PEoLC during public health emergencies. In this post-COVID-19 era, PEoLC professionals may wish to continue to examine social media and learn from web-based public discussion how to ease the long-lasting trauma caused by this crisis and prepare for public health emergencies in the future. Besides, our results showed social media's potential in acting as an effective tool to reflect public opinions in the context of PEoLC.

Exploring healthcare professionals' beliefs, experiences and opinions of family-centred conversations when a parent has a serious illness: A qualitative study

This study explored healthcare professionals' perceived role in talking to adult patients about sharing their diagnosis with children. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore healthcare professionals' beliefs about how families could and should be supported when a parent has a serious illness. Participants were 24 healthcare professionals working in primary, secondary and tertiary NHS services in the UK with adult patients diagnosed with a serious illness. Data were analysed thematically. Many healthcare professionals reported systems to identify patients' family relationships, but this information was rarely used to initiate conversations on what and how to talk to children. It was frequently assumed that someone else in the healthcare system was supporting patients with family communication. Others reported there were more urgent priorities for the consultation or considered that talking to children was a private family matter. However, several professionals did undertake these conversations, viewing this as a central part of their role. Some healthcare professionals felt they had inadequate skills or confidence to raise talking to children with their patients and indicated a need for specific training to address this. The results highlight the importance of systematically documenting patients' relationships with children so that this information can be used to inform ongoing discussions with the healthcare team about what children have been told. Patients consistently report wanting support about how to talk to children and the benefits of effective communication are well documented. Dissemination of this evidence could encourage professionals across all specialities to include family-centred communication in routine patient care. Training resources are needed so that staff feel empowered and equipped to raise these sensitive subjects with their patients.

Parental perspectives on the grief and support needs of children and young people bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic: qualitative findings from a national survey

BACKGROUND

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many children and young people have experienced the death of close family members, whilst also facing unprecedented disruption to their lives. This study aimed to investigate the experiences and support needs of bereaved children and young people from the perspective of their parents and guardians.

METHODS

We analysed cross-sectional qualitative free-text data from a survey of adults bereaved in the UK during the pandemic. Participants were recruited via media, social media, national associations and community/charitable organisations. Thematic analysis was conducted on free text data collected from parent/guardian participants in response to a survey question on the bereavement experiences and support needs of their children.

RESULTS

Free-text data from 104 parent/guardian participants was included. Three main themes were identified: the pandemic-related challenges and struggles experienced by children and young people; family support and coping; and support from schools and services. Pandemic-challenges include the impacts of being separated from the relative prior to their death, isolation from peers and other family members, and disruption to daily routines and wider support networks. Examples were given of effective family coping and communication, but also of difficulties relating to parental grief and children's existing mental health problems. Schools and bereavement organisations' provision of specialist support was valued, but there was evidence of unmet need, with some participants reporting a lack of access to specialist grief or mental health support.

CONCLUSION

Children and young people have faced additional strains and challenges associated with pandemic bereavement. We recommend resources and initiatives that facilitate supportive communication within family and school settings, adequate resourcing of school and community-based specialist bereavement/mental health services, and increased information and signposting to the support that is available.

'It's not just all about the fancy words and the adults': Recommendations for practice from a qualitative interview study with children and young people with a parent with a life-limiting illness

BACKGROUND

Healthcare professionals report challenges in supporting dying patients who have dependent children. These parents are often uncertain how to meet the needs of their children and require appropriate support from professionals. There is limited evidence based guidance for professionals around this issue, which is informed by the views and experiences of children themselves.

AIM

To develop an understanding of the perspective of children on living with parental life-limiting illness and inform recommendations for healthcare professionals.

DESIGN

Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted, with thematic analysis of the data.

SETTING/PARTICIPANTS

A diverse sample of 32 children aged 6-17, whose parent was living with life-limiting illness, were recruited from across the United Kingdom.

RESULTS

Despite the challenges of living with a parent with a life-limiting illness, the children display agency in their response. The children: feel a responsibility to look after their family; negotiate a relationship with healthcare; employ strategies to maintain some normality; and ensure that the inevitable sadness does not become overwhelming.

CONCLUSIONS

Five recommendations for healthcare professionals were developed from the findings. Clinicians should encourage dying parents to: (1) acknowledge the agency of children; (2) recognise children's caregiving roles; (3) engender children's trust in healthcare; (4) maintain some normality; and (5) discuss emotions with their children. Implementing these recommendations will assist parents with a life-limiting illness to provide evidence-based support to their dependent children.

DAILY LIFE OF FAMILIES AND COVID-19: IN THE LIGHT OF THE COMPREHENSIVE SOCIOLOGY OF MICHEL MAFFESOLI

ABSTRACT Objective to understand the changes that occurred in family daily life faced with illness and/or death of a family member by Covid-19. Method exploratory, analytical, qualitative study, rooted in The Comprehensive Sociology and Daily Life of Michel Maffesoli. Data were collected between September and October 2021 in the municipalities of Maringá, Colorado, Mandaguaçu and Floriano district. Participants were 19 families with at least one family member who became ill and/or died by Covid-19. The sampling was by the non-probabilistic Snowball technique. The in-depth technique was used to explore the daily lives of families. The content of the speeches was organized through thematic analysis. The interpretative synthesis was constructed and discussed from the theoretical framework. Results a category called "Familial daily life after illness and/or loss by Covid-19", emerged from the convergence between the reference which was divided into two subcategories: "Changes in daily life and family functioning" and "Changes after the loss of a loved one". Thus, in the analysis, it was found that the changes in family daily life were permeated by obstacles that were caused by financial and physical limitations or the absence of the element (key person) that once gave solidity to the family unit. Conclusion the daily life of families was profoundly modified, changes negatively affected socio-family relationships, from the most banal aspects of daily life to the more complex ones. This study contributes to the nursing practice and its understanding of an effective practice and supports the development of programs for the surviving families of Covid-19.

QUOTIDIANO FAMILIAL DIANTE DO ADOECIMENTO POR COVID-19: À LUZ DA SOCIOLOGIA COMPREENSIVA DE MICHEL MAFFESOLI

RESUMO Objetivo apreender as mudanças ocorridas no quotidiano familial diante do adoecimento e/ou morte de um membro familiar por Covid-19. Método estudo exploratório, analítico, qualitativo, ancorado na Sociologia Compreensiva e do Quotidiano de Michel Maffesoli. A coleta de dados ocorreu entre setembro e outubro de 2021, nos municípios de Maringá, Colorado, Mandaguaçu e no Distrito de Floriano. Participaram 19 famílias que tiveram ao menos um familiar que adoeceu e/ou faleceu por Covid-19. A amostragem foi por meio da técnica não probabilística Snowball. Utilizou-se a técnica em profundidade para explorar o quotidiano das famílias. Organizou-se o conteúdo das falas por meio da análise temática. As sínteses interpretativas foram construídas e discutidas a partir do referencial teórico. Resultados da convergência entre o referencial e os depoimentos emergiu uma categoria denominada “Quotidiano familial após o adoecimento e/ou perda por Covid-19,” dividida em duas subcategorias: “Mudanças no quotidiano e funcionamento familiar” e “Mudanças após a perda de um ente querido”. Assim, na análise, constatou-se que as mudanças no quotidiano familial foram permeadas por obstáculos que se configuraram por limitações financeiras, físicas ou a ausência do elemento (pessoa-chave) que, outrora, conferia solidez à unidade familiar. Conclusão o quotidiano familial foi profundamente modificado, as transformações incidiram negativamente sobre as relações sociofamiliares, desde os aspectos mais banais do cotidiano até os mais complexos. Este estudo contribui para o saber-fazer do enfermeiro na compreensão de uma prática efetiva, apoiando o desenvolvimento de programas de apoio às famílias sobreviventes da Covid-19.

Conversations About Children When an Important Adult Is at End of Life: An Audit

PURPOSE

Health and social care professionals report it challenging to have conversations with families when an important adult in the life of a child is at end of life, often feeling this aspect of care is the responsibility of other colleagues. This study aimed to understand professionals' perceived role in family-centered conversations as part of routine care at end of life, and how to promote this element of care in clinical practice.

METHODS

An audit was completed with 116 professionals who work in palliative care including doctors and nurses that attended a 2-day virtual congress.

RESULTS

Professionals (73.2%) felt confident about starting a conversation with adult patients at end of life about important children. However, enquiring about relationships with children was largely dependent on the age of the patient. 64.7% of respondents reported signposting families to websites and services that provide family support. Most professionals (76.7%) wanted training to equip them with the skills and confidence to having family-centered conversations at end of life, with videos demonstrating how to provide these elements of care the most preferred option.

CONCLUSIONS

Short training resources should be developed to equip professionals with the necessary skills toward having conversations about children with patients and relatives in clinical appointments. There is a need for professionals to ask every patient about important relationships with children.