Staff and Parent Perspectives on a Therapeutic Recreation-Based Bereavement Camp for Families Whose Child Has Died From Serious Illness

Camp Draws You Back Into Life Again: Exploring the Impact of a Therapeutic Recreation-Based Bereavement Camp for Families Who Have Lost a Child to Serious Illness

This qualitative study explores the perceptions of impact associated with engaging in a therapeutic recreation-based bereavement camp for families whose child has died from serious illness. Interviews were completed with 12 parents who had participated in a three-camp cycle of the program over 12-month period, including a subgroup who had also attended a reunion camp. Interviews were also conducted with program staff. Thematic analysis generated key themes relating to the perceived impact which suggest that those engaged in this program perceived positive contributions associated with participation, including perceptions of positive impact on coping with bereavement, access to support and implications for family functioning. This study highlights the areas of impact associated with engagement in a therapeutic recreation-based bereavement intervention, and the potential contribution of wider access to these programs for families whose child has died from serious illness.

The study of psychosocial outcomes of parents bereaved by pediatric illness: a scoping review of methodology and sample composition

OBJECTIVE

Parents of children who died of a medical condition experience a range of psychosocial outcomes. The current scoping review aims to summarize the outcomes assessed, methodology, and sample characteristics of recent psychosocial research conducted with this population.

METHODS

Included studies were limited to peer-reviewed, psychosocial outcomes research published between August 2011 and August 2022, written in English, and including caregiver study participants of children who died of a medical condition. Data sources were scholarly journal articles from 9 electronic databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, Academic Search Primer, ProQuest Research Library, PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection, and Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool-2018 evaluated methodological quality.

RESULTS

The study sample included 106 studies, most of which were either qualitative (60%) or quantitative (29%). Mixed-methods studies (8%) and randomized clinical trials (2%) were also identified. Study quality was variable, but most studies met all quality criteria (73%). Studies primarily represented cancer populations (58%), White participants (71%), and mothers (66%). Risk-based psychosocial outcomes (e.g., grief) were more commonly assessed than resilience-based outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

The current scoping review revealed that recent research assessing the psychosocial outcomes of bereaved parents is limited in the representation of diverse populations, primarily qualitative, of broadly strong methodological quality, and oriented to psychosocial risk. To enhance the state of the science and inform evidence-based psychosocial services, future research should consider varied methodologies to comprehensively assess processes of risk and resilience with demographically and medically diverse populations.

Improving family grief outcomes: A scoping review of family-based interventions before and after the death of a child

BACKGROUND

Experiencing the illness and death of a child is a traumatic experience for the parents and the child's siblings. However, knowledge regarding effective grief interventions targeting the whole family is limited, including how to integrate age-appropriate support for siblings.

AIM

We aimed to synthesize the empirical literature regarding grief interventions that target the whole family before and/or after the death of a child.

DESIGN

A scoping review following the Joanna Briggs Institute and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines.

DATA SOURCES

We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, CINAHL, and Scopus covering January 1998-May 2022. We included studies describing any type of structured intervention targeting the whole family (i.e. parents and siblings) before or/and after the death of a child (below 18 years), with pre-post assessments of grief-related symptoms in the family as an outcome.

RESULTS

After removal of duplicates, we screened the titles and abstracts of 4078 publications and identified 30 publications for full-text screening. None of the studies met the inclusion criteria. Most of the studies were excluded because they either did not target the whole family or did not target families who had lost a child below 18 years. Bereavement camps were a popular form of family intervention, but none were evaluated in a pre-post design. No grief interventions offering support pre-death were found.

CONCLUSIONS

There is great need for research to improve bereavement outcomes for the entire family and to potentially integrate this in pediatric palliative care.