AUTHOR=Pakseresht Maryam , Rassouli Maryam , Rejeh Nahid , Rostami Shahnaz , Barasteh Salman , Molavynejad Shahram 

TITLE=Explore the Bereavement Needs of Families of Children With Cancer From the Perspective of Health Caregivers: A Qualitative Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.750838

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2021.750838

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=Introduction: The experience of bereavement is associated with severe physical, psychological, social and spiritual reactions in the parents of children with cancer. So that, the families of these children need to receive bereavement services. The aim of this study was to explore the bereavement needs of families of children with cancer from the perspective of nurses.
Methods: This study used a qualitative descriptive study design. In total 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted using the purposive sampling in 2018. Interviews were recorded and transcribed and conventional content analysis was used to analysis the data. 
Results: From the data analysis, needs of the bereaved family were categorized in three dimension including “achieving peace”, “Abandoned family access  to care” and “continuing care”. The category of “achieving peace” including spiritual and existential support, companionship with the family, contact with other bereaved families, support in passing and accepting the bereaved and continuing empathetic communication with the family, the category “Abandoned family access to care” including the promotion of family self-control, awareness of end-of-life care to the family, and the category of “continuing care”, including formal and informal family care and individualized care. 
Conclusion: It is necessary for the care team to pay special focus to family considering the needs of the family about the death of the child and the challenges of the family bereavement period. It is recommended that members of the health care team be trained in assessing family needs, identifying risks of adverse outcomes, continuing care, and providing resources during bereavement. The needs of the bereaved family should also be addressed in their care plan.