Constantly responsible, constantly worried, constantly blessed: parenting after pediatric heart transplant.

Prog Transplant. 2009 Jun;19(2):122-7

Authors: Green A, Meaux J, Huett A, Ainley K

CONTEXT: Very little research has focused on the long-term caregiving demands associated with parenting a child after a transplant or on the parents' perceptions of those demands.

PURPOSE: To describe parents' experiences parenting a school-aged child after heart transplant. DESIGN: Focused ethnography.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Eleven parents of children who had undergone heart transplant 2 or more years before the study were recruited from a large children's hospital.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Parents were interviewed in a private location of their choice. Verbatim interview transcripts were analyzed by using content analysis and constant comparison.

RESULTS: The parents described their experiences in positive terms, yet acknowledged hardships. Key themes included (1) constantly responsible, (2) constantly worried, (3) constantly blessed, and (4) coping with life. The identified themes provide direction for interventions to help parents cope with the experience of parenting a child after heart transplant.

PMID: 19588661 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Read Full Article Journal In Prog Transplant