Messages to first responders from a bereaved parent
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol33iss2id870Keywords:
Autoethnography, bereaved parents, first responders, professionals taking control, emergency services, bereavement supportAbstract
INTRODUCTION: This article describes the use of autoethnography to explore my experience as a bereaved parent in relation to the traumatic loss of my 12-year-old child in 2009.
METHODS: Employing an autoethnographic approach, this research articulates and investigates personal narratives associated with experiences of the death of my young child. Narratives offer a rich description of the event and allow data analysis where emerging themes stream from a personal experience.
FINDINGS: Professionals taking control and the caring role of the community are main themes identified and analysed from these personal narratives. The findings advocate for an understanding of the needs of grieving parents at a time of extreme confusion. This article concentrates on professional first responders taking control and guiding traumatised parents when their child has a fatal event. Bereaved parents experience disorientation and traumatic confusion at the sudden death of their child. Emergency responders need to offer active listening skills and guidance.
IMPLICATIONS: Professional first responders need to take control of the bereaved parent’s early journey of grief as they are likely to be in a state of deep traumatic shock, where disorientation leaves them vulnerable to lowered cognitive ability. The use of active listening skills and sensitivity can direct traumatised parents, thereby assisting the short- and long-term welfare of the family by addressing their initial needs at a time of crisis.
References
Aho, A., Tarkka, M., Astedt-Kurki, P., & Kaunonen, M. (2010). Health care personnel’s experiences of a bereavement follow-up intervention for grieving parents. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 25(2), 373–382. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6712.2010.00837.x
Brindis, S., Gausche-Hill, M., Young, K., & Putnam, B. (2011). Universally poor outcomes of paediatric traumatic arrest: A prospective case series and review of the literature. Paediatric Emergency Care, 27(7), 616– 621. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/PEC.0b013e31822255c9
Dyregrov, K., & Dyregrov, A. (2008). Effective grief and bereavement support. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Ellis, C. (2004). The ethnographic I. Altamira Press.
Ellis, C., Adams, T., & Bochner, A. (2011). Autoethnography: An overview. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, Sozialforschung. http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1589/3095
Feigelman, W., Jordan, J., McIntosh, J., & Feigelman, B. (2012). Devastating losses. Springer Publishers.
Fulbrook, T. (2015). Bereavement and parents who have experienced the sudden death of a child [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Walden University.
Gallagher, S., & Zahavi, D. (2014). Phenomenological approaches to self-consciousness. The Stanford encyclopaedia of philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2016/entries/self-consciousness-phenomenological/
Gibbs, G. (2013). Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods (1st ed.). Oxford Brookes University. https://thoughtsmostlyaboutlearning.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/learning-by-doing-graham-gibbs.pdf
Heltne, U., Dyregrov, A., & Dyregrov, K. (2016). Death scene investigation: Parents’ experiences. Scandinavian Journal of Forensic Science, 22(2). http://dx.doi. org/10.1515/sjfs-2016-0009.
Hermansson, G., & Webb, S. (2009). Eclectic counselling: Working with an integrated model (3rd ed.). Inside-Out Books.
Hudson, M., Allan, C., Bedford, K., Buckleton, J., & Stuart, K. (2008). The impact of Māori cultural values on forensic science practice in New Zealand. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 53(2), 380–383. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ j.1556-4029.2008.00661.x
Janzen, L., Cadell, S., & Westhues, A. (2004). From death notification through to the funeral: Bereaved parents’ experiences and their advice to professionals. OMEGA – Journal of Death and Dying, 48(2), 149–164. http://dx.doi.org/10.2190/6xuw-4pyd-h88q-rq08
Jewkes, F. (2001). Current topic: Prehospital emergency care for children. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 84(2), 103–105.http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/adc.84.2.103
Kim, J. (2016). Understanding narrative inquiry: The crafting and analysis of stories as research. Sage.
Mendez, M. (2013). Autoethnography as a research method: Advantages, limitations, and criticisms. Colombia Applied Linguist Journal, 15(2), 279–287. http://www. scielo.org.co/pdf/calj/v15n2/v15n2a10.pdf
O’Hara, M., Carter, C., Dewis, P., Kay, J., & Wainwright, J. (2014). Successful dissertations. Bloomsbury.
Pace, S. (2012). Writing the self into research: Using grounded theory analytic strategies in autoethnography. Journal of Writing and Writing Courses, 13, 1–15. http:// www.textjournal.com.au/speciss/issue13/Pace.pdf
Regehr, C. (2011). Crisis theory and social work treatment. In F. J. Turner (Ed.), Social work treatment: Interlocking theoretical approaches (pp. 134–143). Oxford University Press.
Saari, S. (2005). A bolt from the blue: Coping with disasters and acute traumas. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Tolich, M., & Davidson, C. (2011). Getting started: An introduction to research methods. Pearson.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
By completing the online submission process, you confirm you accept this agreement. The following is the entire agreement between you and the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) and it may be modified only in writing.
You and any co-authors
If you are completing this agreement on behalf of co-authors, you confirm that you are acting on their behalf with their knowledge.
First publication
By submitting the work you are:
- granting the ANZASW the right of first publication of this work;
- confirming that the work is original; and
- confirming that the work has not been published in any other form.
Once published, you are free to use the final, accepted version in any way, as outlined below under Copyright.
Copyright
You assign copyright in the final, accepted version of your article to the ANZASW. You and any co-authors of the article retain the right to be identified as authors of the work.
The ANZASW will publish the final, accepted manuscript under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This licence allows anyone – including you – to share, copy, distribute, transmit, adapt and make commercial use of the work without needing additional permission, provided appropriate attribution is made to the original author or source.
A human-readable summary of the licence is available from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, which includes a link to the full licence text.
Under this licence you can use the final, published version of the article freely – such as depositing a copy in your institutional research repository, uploading a copy to your profile on an academic networking site or including it in a different publication, such as a collection of articles on a topic or in conference proceedings – provided that original publication in Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work is acknowledged.
This agreement has no effect on any pre-publication versions or elements, which remain entirely yours, and to which we claim no right.
Reviewers hold copyright in their own comments and should not be further copied in any way without their permission.
The copyright of others
If your article includes the copyright material of others (e.g. graphs, diagrams etc.), you confirm that your use either:
- falls within the limits of fair dealing for the purposes of criticism and review or fair use; OR
- that you have gained permission from the rights holder for publication in an open access journal.
