"Warrior who transcends adversity": A qualitative examination of resilience among mothers caring for adolescents with congenital heart disease.

PURPOSE: Parenting resilience is essential for the well-being and development of children with chronic illnesses. Given the importance of parenting resilience in this context, this study explored the nature of parenting resilience among mothers caring for adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD). DESIGN AND METHODS: We adopted Husserl's phenomenological approach and conducted semistructured in-depth interviews. In addition, we conducted purposive sampling at the pediatric cardiology outpatient departments of 2 medical centers in Taiwan to recruit 11 mothers of adolescents with CHD; all of these adolescents had received open-heart surgery. Furthermore, we analyzed data by using Colaizzi's approach, and we adhered to the COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research checklist. RESULTS: Mothers caring for adolescents with CHD was a dynamic process involving problem solving. The 11 mothers in this study employed resilience to remain strong, provided a sense of normalcy for their children, and approached challenges calmly and bravely. We uncovered three major themes among these mothers: "providing support for the child, "facing challenges with equanimity," and "overcoming adversity through positivity and gratitude." CONCLUSIONS: The present results provide a deeper understanding of how mothers caring for adolescents with CHD can cultivate resilience. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The study's findings can inform transitional programs for adolescents with CHD and their families, with nursing professionals supporting mothers' resilience.

Caring perceptions and experiences of fathers of children with congenital heart disease: A systematic review of qualitative evidence.

AIM: To identify fathers' perceptions and experiences of caring for their children with congenital heart disease. DESIGN: A qualitative systematic review. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Clinical Key, the Joanna Briggs Institute Evidence-based practice database, CINAHL Complete, Embase and PsycINFO were searched for all journal articles published before May 2020. REVIEW METHODS: After applying the selection criteria, five studies were identified reporting on fathers with children between 1 month and 12 years. The quality of the articles was evaluated. RESULTS: Six main themes regarding fathers' perceptions and experiences of caring for their children with congenital heart disease were identified: (1) lack of disease knowledge, (2) responsibility to the family and emotional suppression, (3) gratitude for the sustained life of their children, (4) acceptance of being different from others, (5) regrouping and planning for the future and (6) the struggles of father-child relationships. CONCLUSION: In caring for their children with congenital heart disease, fathers are akin to a suffering warrior, full of hardship. With a self-imposed sense of responsibility and suppressed emotions, fathers may feel lonely and hurt, but they must fight for their families and children.

Probing the alkyl ligands on silylated mesoporous MCM-41 using hyperpolarized 129Xe NMR spectroscopy.

Variable-temperature hyperpolarized (HP) 129Xe NMR spectroscopy has been employed to characterize surface properties of mesoporous MCM-41 modified by silylation treatment. The characteristic chemical shifts responsible for Xe-surface interactions exhibit strong correlations with both the surface coverage and chain length of the grafted alkylsilanes. Consequently, the deshielding medium contribution due to individual alkyl ligand can be deduced based on the group contribution analysis revealing the potential use of HP 129Xe NMR for probing the surface properties of organic-functionalized porous materials.