1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The purpose of the present study was to gain an understanding of how bereaved parents cope with their grief in the first year after the death of their child, as well as to obtain their perspectives on the impact of bereavement follow-up and support services.» (p. 650)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
L’échantillon est composé de 15 mères et 6 pères ayant vécu le deuil d’un enfant, et de 7 professionnels de la santé. Tous les participants ont été recrutés dans deux centres hospitaliers d’une grande ville canadienne.

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien semi-directif

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

«[T]he parents’ experiences of coping was highly personal in nature and affected by various situational factors. One particularly important aspect […] was the impact of the parents’ social world on how they coped with their grief. […] In the current study, we found that the socially embedded nature of grieving was related to why certain bereavement services and follow-up practices offered by the hospitals or broader community were considered helpful by the parents. Indeed, when parents were asked about their perspectives on these services, their responses had much in common with their descriptions of the support they received from their network of family and friends. […] One finding of the present study which might have important clinical relevance concerns differences in coping that related to gender. For example, the fathers we interviewed more often mentioned going back to work as helpful in coping with their grief in the months following the death of their child, whereas mothers did not […]. Finally, our findings on the effect of the passage of time on parents’ grief, and on their perspectives on the timing of services offered to them […] suggest that, although follow-up services are considered important in the first year […], some parents might not yet be “ready” to make use of such services during this period […].» (p. 660-661)