Bereaved Parents' Health Status During the First 6 Months After Their Child's Death.
Published
Journal Article
PURPOSE:To examine bereaved parents' physical, mental, and social health during the first 6 months after their child's (<12 years) death from a life-threatening illness. BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE:Bereaved parents have higher mortality and morbidity rates when compared to nonbereaved parents. Acute illnesses, hospitalizations, and medication changes are highest in the first 6 months. An understanding of bereaved parents' health risk indicators can help inform development of health promotion and disease prevention measures. Methods and Analysis: A prospective descriptive study examined 8 parent dyads. Parents completed health surveys (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-global, social, and sleep; Brief Symptom Inventory [BSI] 18), which are used to assess parents' health at 3 and 6 months after their child's death. Demographic data included a medical history, hospital or emergency department visits, and smoking and alcohol intake. Descriptive statistics were used to compare parents' scores to US general population scores. FINDINGS:Mothers' and fathers' physical, mental, and sleep health scores were typically within 1 to 2 standard deviations of the population norms. However, their social health scores were as low as 3 standard deviations and all parents' scores were below population norms. Four (25%) of the 16 parents had new diagnosis during the first 6 months. Based on the BSI-18, 3 parents had their scores above population cutoffs, which warranted a need for further clinical evaluation. CONCLUSIONS:Health data highlight the "at-risk" health status of bereaved parents. Further validation of these data is required to support the development of health promotion and disease prevention programs.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Dias, N; Brandon, D; Haase, JE; Tanabe, P
Published Date
- June 2018
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 35 / 6
Start / End Page
- 829 - 839
PubMed ID
- 29202599
Pubmed Central ID
- 29202599
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1938-2715
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 1049-9091
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1177/1049909117744188
Language
- eng