ABSTRACT

The purpose of the current study was to explore the challenges experienced by hearing parents when parenting a child with hearing loss. Using a qualitative purposive sampling design, interviews were conducted with 13 parents (9 mothers, 4 fathers) residing in Cape Town, South Africa. Four salient themes emerged, namely: 1) communication is difficult, hard, and frustrating; 2) lack of knowledge and information about hearing loss makes it difficult to parent; 3) little or no support makes for a lonely journey; and 4) support identified by parents for parents. The findings of the study have important implications for collaboration and partnerships between parents and health and family practitioners within South Africa for the design and development of supportive interventions for parents parenting a child with hearing loss.

摘要

本研究的目的是探讨在为有听力损失的孩子做父母时，有听力的父母所面临的挑战。使用定性的定性抽样设计，对居住在南非开普敦的13位父母（9位母亲，4位父亲）进行了访谈。出现了四个突出的主题，即：1）沟通困难，艰难而令人沮丧。2）缺乏关于听力损失的知识和信息，使父母难以养育；3）很少或没有支持会导致一个孤独的旅程；4）父母确定的对父母的支持。这项研究的发现对于南非父母和健康与家庭医生之间的合作与伙伴关系，对于设计和开发针对父母为患有听力损失的孩子的父母的支持性干预措施，具有重要的意义。