PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to illuminate the meanings of significant others' lived experiences of their situation from diagnosis through and after the death of a family member as a consequence of inoperable lung cancer. METHODS: The data was collected through narrative interviews from eleven significant others and interpreted using a phenomenological hermeneutic approach. KEY RESULTS: Four themes emerged: being unbalanced, being transitional, being cared for, and moving forward. CONCLUSION: The significant others' experiences can be viewed as a transition process, beginning with a sense of dislocation in life and continuing through struggling, enduring and conquering the consequences of the altered life situation until finally approaching a point characterized by a sense of stability. Different strategies of adjustment and adaptation to the new living conditions are considered. Furthermore, the results indicate the need to develop a framework for family-centered health care in order to enhance the wellbeing for the significant others both in the anticipatory grief phase and during the bereavement phase.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to illuminate the meanings of significant others' lived experiences of their situation from diagnosis through and after the death of a family member as a consequence of inoperable lung cancer. METHODS: The data was collected through narrative interviews from eleven significant others and interpreted using a phenomenological hermeneutic approach. KEY RESULTS: Four themes emerged: being unbalanced, being transitional, being cared for, and moving forward. CONCLUSION: The significant others' experiences can be viewed as a transition process, beginning with a sense of dislocation in life and continuing through struggling, enduring and conquering the consequences of the altered life situation until finally approaching a point characterized by a sense of stability. Different strategies of adjustment and adaptation to the new living conditions are considered. Furthermore, the results indicate the need to develop a framework for family-centered health care in order to enhance the wellbeing for the significant others both in the anticipatory grief phase and during the bereavement phase.
Authors: Kathrin Milbury; Hoda Badr; Frank Fossella; Katherine M Pisters; Cindy L Carmack Journal: Support Care Cancer Date: 2013-04-02 Impact factor: 3.603
Authors: Angel Marie Chater; Neil Howlett; Gillian W Shorter; Julia K Zakrzewski-Fruer; Jane Williams Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-02-13 Impact factor: 3.390