Fathers experiences version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring Fathers’ experiences of living with a child who has a life shortening condition: A Phenomenological approach
IRAS ID
207178
Contact name
Nicky Bridges
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 9 days
Research summary
This is a piece of qualitative research within the field of children’s palliative care. It aims to answer the question: “What are the experiences of fathers living with a child who has a life shortening condition?”
Children’s palliative care encompasses the whole family, and it is vital that all family members feel supported. There are numerous research papers looking at mother’s experiences and the support they receive. A preliminary review of the literature has shown that very little research has been carried out in relation to fathers. As fathers are involved in the care of their child, and, like mothers, they need to cope with the uncertainty of living day to day knowing that their child may die. Unless service providers know how fathers experience this, then it is difficult to ensure that the needs of the father are being met.
Participants will be recruited from a UK children’s hospice. Any father who lives with their child will be eligible to take part. The research question will be answered by carrying out semi structured interviews with the researcher and the participant. The interviews will take place within the children’s hospice, in a private room. Interviews are expected to last between 40-60 minutes.
Each participant will be involved in one interview. They will be offered support post interview by the family support team within the hospice. It is hoped that the results will help in the development and review of current palliative care services for children and their families across the UK.
The research will take place from June 2016-September 2017. It is part of a dissertation to obtain the award of MSc in Children’s Palliative Care. The dissertation will be available in Cardiff University Library. The researcher plans publish the results in a paper submitted to relevant journals, and conferences
REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 1
REC reference
16/ES/0098
Date of REC Opinion
30 Aug 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion