Parental coping during a child's life changing hospital admission
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How do parents cope when their child has a life changing admission to hospital? A constructivist grounded theory study.
IRAS ID
214469
Contact name
Sally Bradshaw
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 2 days
Research summary
The aim of this research is to conceptualise how parents cope when a child is admitted to hospital in life changing circumstances. This will be investigated qualitatively using constructivist grounded theory methodology (Charmaz, 2006, Charmaz, 2014) to explore how parents cope, as well as what life-changing means to parents, and participants perceptions of met and unmet support needs.
Around 20-25 parents and around 10-15 others who support them will be included. Parent and staff participants will be recruited in at least two stages, from Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and other participants (not parents) may also be recruited through other parent support organisations. An initial sample of 10-12 parents and 6-8 others who meet the inclusion criteria will be interviewed and their data will be analysed, further participants will then be sought to in order to elaborate and refine initial findings.
Data will be collected using in-depth interviews, and transcripts will be coded and analysed using the constant comparison method and memo writing which is a common approach to dealing with qualitative data. Data, codes and categories will be compared with each other to find similarities and differences. Memo writing will be used throughout the research process to develop findings, and to sort, integrate and organise the analysis.
This protocol is part of a wider research project aiming to develop support for parents in these circumstances. By embedding this qualitative work early in the wider research programme it will be possible to ensure a range of voices and experiences are considered from the start. The results will feed directly in to intervention development, as well as contribute to the evidence base on the needs of parents at the time of child hospitalisation.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/WM/0162
Date of REC Opinion
26 May 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion