Connecting with parents and children before and after parental death.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Connecting with parents,and their dependent children before, and after, the death of a parent.
IRAS ID
241906
Contact name
Emma Ream
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Surrey Research Integrity and Governance Office
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, months, days
Research summary
Each year in the UK, approximately 41,000 children under the age of eighteen have a parent who dies. Children are resilient when prepared for the death of a parent and when supported afterwards. If not prepared or supported, children experience higher levels of referral than peers to specialist mental health services. They also have on-going mental health problems. Nurses and social workers are reported to find it hard to connect with parents and children at this time. Research is lacking regarding what nurses and social workers need to enhance their confidence to establish supportive connections with parents and children at this time. Using Experience-Based- Co-design methodology and following the first phase of the Medical Research Council’s (2006) Framework for Developing and Evaluating Complex Interventions, the researcher will collaborate with co-design participants who have knowledge of the subject. They will determine the preferred mode of delivery and content of a prototype intervention that will be designed to enhance nurses’ and social workers’ ability to connect with parents and children before, and after, the death of a parent. Co-participants will include subject experts, nurses, social workers, surviving parents, and young adults (aged 16-25 years) who were bereaved as children. The study will take place over one year. Participants will be invited to take part in a Delphi survey, focus groups, and in the design of the prototype intervention. Participants who are subject experts will be recruited via contacts within professional bodies such as the Royal College of Nursing and the British Association of Social Workers. Nurses and social workers will be recruited from four sites (2 hospices and 2 acute hospitals) in England. Surviving parents and young adults who were bereaved as children will be recruited via a specialist bereavement group (Jigsaw South East)and via bereavement support groups on the study sites.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/1180
Date of REC Opinion
17 Jul 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion