Background 

Parents experience unique grief, which may be experienced differently by mothers and fathers. A lack of knowledge about the particular bereavement experiences of the parents of young adults exists.

Objective 

The aim of this study was to investigate experiences and support needs of parents after the death of a child (aged 16-29 years) from cancer, exploring changes over time.

Methods 

The study used a Charmazian constructivist grounded theory approach. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 11 parents (7 mothers and 4 fathers) purposefully sampled and bereaved between 15 months and 7 years. Data were analyzed inductively using the constant comparative approach for category development.

Results 

“Living with continual loss” emerged as the core category central to parents’ experiences of bereavement. Feelings of continual loss were compounded by parents’ lack of information (“grieving in the dark”) and a perceived lack of understanding from families and friends (“grieving alone”). Parents discovered strategies to manage the feeling of loss: “changing routines,” “preserving the meaning of home,” “maintaining memories and presence,” and “sharing experiences.”

Conclusions 

This is the first study focusing solely on the experiences and support needs of bereaved parents of young adults who have died of cancer. Parents live with a continual sense of loss irrespective of the length of bereavement, and a lack of bereavement information and empathetic emotional support can exist.

Implications for Practice 

The need for improved information giving and development of peer support for bereaved parents has been identified. Cancer centers have a continuing role in developing and providing this support.

中文翻译：

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调查成年早期儿童死于癌症后失去亲人的父母的经历和支持需求

背景 

父母经历独特的悲伤，母亲和父亲可能会有不同的经历。对年轻人父母的特殊丧亲经历缺乏了解。

客观的 

本研究的目的是调查儿童（16-29 岁）死于癌症后父母的经历和支持需求，探索随时间的变化。

方法 

该研究使用了 Charmazian 建构主义的扎根理论方法。对 11 名父母（7 名母亲和 4 名父亲）进行了半结构化访谈，有目的地抽样并在 15 个月至 7 岁之间失去亲人。使用类别开发的恒定比较方法对数据进行了归纳分析。

结果 

“不断丧失生活”成为父母丧亲经历的核心类别。父母缺乏信息（“在黑暗中悲伤”）以及家人和朋友认为缺乏理解（“独自悲伤”），加剧了持续失去的感觉。父母发现了管理失落感的策略：“改变常规”、“保留家的意义”、“保持记忆和存在”以及“分享经验”。

结论 

这是第一项仅关注死于癌症的年轻成年人失去亲人的父母的经历和支持需求的研究。无论丧亲的时间长短，父母都生活在持续的失落感中，并且可能存在缺乏丧亲信息和同情的情感支持。

对实践的启示 

已经确定需要改进信息提供和为失去亲人的父母提供同伴支持。癌症中心在开发和提供这种支持方面发挥着持续的作用。