Immediate bereavement experiences when a parent of dependent children has died of cancer: Funeral directors' perspectives

Abstract

When a parent of dependent children dies, families are often unsure if and how children could be part of the immediate bereavement period. Children excluded can be more susceptive to negative outcomes. In-depth interviews explored funeral directors’ (N = 23) experiences of providing a service to families in the immediate bereavement period, when a parent dies from cancer. Findings highlighted funeral directors can have an important role in guiding families through the distressing immediate bereavement period. Recommendations are discussed surrounding a pastoral role of the funeral director in the immediate bereavement period.

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the 23 funeral directors who volunteered time and consented to participate in this research. Thanks also to Dr. Geraldine Horigan for her assistance in obtaining ethical approvals for this research. Finally, we extend our thanks to Prof. Kader Parahoo and Prof. George Kernohan at the Institute of Nursing and Health Research, Ulster University, and the two Death Studies’ peer-reviewers and Editor (Dr. Lauren J. Breen) for insightful feedback on early drafts of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available at the Ulster University Repository and available on request from the first author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy and ethical restrictions. The study passed ethical committee review [REC:17/SW/0155].

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the UK Department for Education (DfE), awarded to the lead author [Jeffrey R. Hanna] to undertake this research as part of his PhD.