Parent Grief 1–13 Months After Death in Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units

ABSTRACT

Objective. Describe changes in mothers’ and fathers’ grief from 1 to 13 months after infant or child neonatal or pediatric intensive care unit death and identify factors related to their grief.

Methods. Mothers (n = 130) and fathers (n = 52) of 140 children (newborn–18 years) completed the Hogan Grief Reaction Checklist at 1, 3, 6, and 13 months postdeath.

Results. Grief decreased from 3 to 13 months for mothers and from 3 to 6 months for fathers. Grief was more intense for mothers of deceased adolescents and mothers whose children were declared brain dead.

Conclusion. Mothers’ and fathers’ grief intensity may not coincide, resulting in different needs during the 13 months after infant or child death.

KEYWORDS:

• Child death
• father grief
• grief
• infant death
• mother grief

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institutes of Health (grant number R01 NR009120).

Notes on contributors

JoAnne M. Youngblut

JoAnne M. Youngblut, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Professor in Prevention and Family Health at the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences, Florida International University. She has extensive research expertise with critically ill children and their families. She and Dr. Brooten are the PIs on the NIH-funded R01 that produced these data. E-mail: [email protected]

Dorothy Brooten

Dorothy Brooten, PhD, RN, FAAN, is Professor of Nursing at the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences, Florida International University. She has extensive funded research expertise with women with high-risk pregnancies and high-risk neonates. E-mail: [email protected]

Joy Glaze

Joy Glaze, MSN, is a PhD student at the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences, Florida International University. She has extensive critical care clinical experience and is presently a member of the Lung Transplant Team at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. E-mail: [email protected]

Teresita Promise

Teresita Promise, MSN, is a PhD student at the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences, Florida International University. She has extensive critical care clinical experience with veterans at the end of life. She is presently on staff at the Veterans Hospital in Miami. E-mail: [email protected]

Changwon Yoo

Changwon Yoo, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Biostatistics at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, Florida International University. He is the statistician on this funded R01 project and has extensive experience with the statistics used in this paper. E-mail: [email protected]