Cited by 237Grief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthPalliative and Oncologic CareFamily Support in Illness

Parental Grief After Losing a Child to Cancer: Impact of Professional and Social Support on Long-Term Outcomes

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Kreicbergs, Ulrika C., Lannen, Patrizia, Onelov, Erik, Wolfe, Joanne·2007·Journal of Clinical Oncology

Abstract

Purpose: It is still uncertain whether or not parents can ever come to terms with the loss of a child and whether professional or social support facilitate the long-term grief process. Methods: A Swedish population-based study, which sent an anonymous, mail-in questionnaire to parents who had lost a child to a malignancy 4 to 9 years earlier, gained the participation of 449 (80%) of 561 parents. Parents were asked whether, and to what extent, they had worked through their grief. Questions were also asked regarding those who provided parents with support. We examined candidate factors to determine their associations with greater likelihood of working through parental grief. Results: Overall, most parents (74%) stated that they had worked through their grief “a lot” or “completely” at the time of the follow-up. Parents who had shared their problems with others during the child's illness (fathers: relative risk [RR], 3.0; 95% CI, 1.8 to 5.0; mothers: RR 1.9; 95% CI, 1.2 to 2.8) and who had access to psychological support during the last month of their child's life (fathers: RR 1.4; 95% CI, 1.0 to 1.8; mothers: RR 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1 to 1.6) were more likely to have worked through their grief. In cases where health care staff offered parents counseling during the child's last month, the parents were more likely to have worked through their grief (fathers: RR 1.5; 95% CI, 1.2 to 1.8; mothers; RR 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1 to 1.4). Conclusion: Most parents eventually work through the grief associated with losing a child to cancer. In the long term, sharing the emotional burden with others facilitates the grieving process.

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Authors
Kreicbergs, U. C., Lannen, P., Onelov, E., & Wolfe, J.
Affiliations
  • University of Bern (CH)
  • From the Phyllis F. Cantor Center; Department of Pediatric Oncology; the Center for Outcomes and Policy Research, Dana Farber Cancer Institute; Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA; Department of Women and Child's Health; Division of Clinical Cancer Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; and the Department of Psychology, Universität Bern, Berne, Switzerland
Venue
Journal of Clinical Oncology
Published
2007-08-01
Volume
25
Issue
22
Pages
3307-3312
ISSN
  • 0732-183X (ISSN-L)
  • 1527-7755
OpenAlex
W2110136777
Cited by
237
References
30
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 9
FWCI
8.36
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Clinical Oncology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Charles H. Hood Foundation
  • Svenska Sällskapet för Medicinsk Forskning
  • National Cancer Institute (K07CA096746)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative and Oncologic Care
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Family Support in Illness
Keywords
parental grief, child cancer, bereavement, grief processing, social support, professional support, psychological support, parents, long-term outcomes
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Attitude to Death, Child, Female, Grief, Humans, Male, Neoplasms, Parent-Child Relations, Parents, Professional-Family Relations, Surveys and Questionnaires, Registries, Regression Analysis, Social Support, Sweden, Chi-Square Distribution

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