Children's understanding of dying and death: A multinational grounded theory study.

OBJECTIVES: The ways in which children understand dying and death remain poorly understood; most studies have been carried out with samples other than persons with an illness. The objective of this study was to understand the process by which children directly involved with life-limiting conditions understand dying and death. METHODS: This qualitative study obtained interview data from N = 44 5-18-year-old children in the USA, Haiti, and Uganda who were pediatric palliative care patients or siblings of patients. Of these, 32 were children with a serious condition and 12 were siblings of a child with a serious condition. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, verified, and analyzed using grounded theory methodology. RESULTS: Loss of normalcy and of relationships emerged as central themes described by both ill children and siblings. Resilience, altruism, and spirituality had a bidirectional relationship with loss, being strategies to manage both losses and anticipated death, but also being affected by losses. Resiliency and spirituality, but not altruism, had a bidirectional relationship with anticipating death. Themes were consistent across the 3 samples, although the beliefs and behaviors expressing them varied by country. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: This study partially fills an identified gap in research knowledge about ways in which children in 3 nations understand dying and death. While children often lack an adult vocabulary to express thoughts about dying and death, results show that they are thinking about these topics. A proactive approach to address issues is warranted, and the data identify themes of concern to children.

Home-Based Reiki by Informal Caregivers: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study.

This pilot study explored whether Reiki delivered by family caregivers to cancer patients in a home setting was feasible in reducing cancer symptoms and enhancing health-related outcomes. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods study design was applied using pre-/post-Reiki questionnaires and post-Reiki interviews. Six patient-caregiver dyads from an outpatient clinic and cancer support facilities in northeast America performed daily Reiki at home for 3 weeks. Differences with symptoms, mental well-being, health-related quality of life, and satisfaction with at-home Reiki as well as qualitative content analyses were evaluated. Positive feedback was reported after at-home Reiki practice. Large statistical effects were identified for improving fatigue, memory, mood, nausea, and emotional well-being ( P < .10, r = 0.51-0.59). All participants were satisfied and 83.3% of them would recommend self-practice home Reiki. High involvement and adherence to the intervention protocol illustrated intervention fidelity. The qualitative data revealed 2 major categories, perceived benefits and barriers. Overall Reiki benefits outweighed barriers in relation to time commitment and place distractions/positioning. Our preliminary findings support that the at-home Reiki protocol had potential benefits and was feasible and acceptable by both community-dwelling patients and their family caregivers in promoting cancer-related outcomes. Further studies with larger samples are warranted to examine the effectiveness of home-based Reiki for a patient-centered cancer care modality.

Spiritual uncertainty: exemplars of 2 hospice patients.

Spirituality is important to persons approaching the end of life. The ambiguous nature of dying and spirituality creates many opportunities for uncertainty. This article presents 2 exemplars from hospice patients about the different ways that spiritual uncertainty affected their dying experience.