The lived experience of mothers of children with haemophilia in Jordan: A phenomenological study.

BACKGROUND: Haemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder. Mothers of children with haemophilia experience stress, anxiety and different types of burdens that affect their life negatively. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the lived experience of mothers of children with haemophilia. METHODS: A descriptive phenomenological design was utilized. The participants were selected purposively from the Jordanian Association for Thalassemia and Hemophilia. Data saturation was achieved by interviewing 20 mothers. RESULTS: Five themes emerged: (1) the challenges related to the diagnosis, the availability and administration of the clotting factors, and the occurrence of the bleeding emergency; (2) physical, social, psychological and financial burden; (3) fear of child death and disability; (4) stigmatization; and (5) lack of educational and medical support. CONCLUSION: Mothers of children with haemophilia suffer from physical, psychological and social consequences. Healthcare providers should carry out educational sessions regarding the importance of support for the family and throughout the life of the child.

Coping Mechanism among Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review.

This review presented the current literature on coping mechanisms among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), focusing on types of coping mechanisms among parents and different coping mechanisms between mothers and fathers of children with ASD. A search of published literature in English was conducted using Google Scholar, PsycINFO, Medline, Scopus, CINAHL, EBSCO, Springer, Ovid, PubMed, and Cochrane Library up to February 2020. Overall, 18 articles were relevant to the review. The review included thirteen studies for types of coping mechanisms among parents of children with ASD and five studies for different coping mechanisms between mothers and fathers. Coping mechanisms demonstrated by parents when caring for their child include problem-focused and emotion-focused coping. A comparison between fathers and mothers in our review showed that mothers used emotion-focused coping more than fathers, while fathers used problem-focused coping more frequently than mothers. The review provides an exciting opportunity to advance our knowledge on types of coping mechanisms and gender difference in using coping mechanisms among parents of children with ASD. The review also sheds new light on developing supportive interventions by healthcare providers to improve coping mechanisms among parents of children with ASD.

Preparing the Family and Children for Surgery.

The focus of this literature analysis is the concept of preparing the family and children for surgery. As posited in the literature, surgery causes stress and anxiety that have a negative impact on both parents and their children. Therefore, the need for health care professionals to facilitate positive preparation for surgery to minimize anxiety and enhance postoperative recovery is important. Preparing the family and children for surgery is discussed in depth under the following themes: Preoperative Anxiety in Children, the Impact of Preoperative Anxiety on the Pediatric Patients and Parents, Preoperative Psychological Preparation for Children and Parents, and the Role of Nurse Practitioners in Preoperative Preparation. Through reviewing the literature, it would appear that some areas of preparation for parents are not as sufficient as they could be, particularly with regard to adequate preoperative education programs. The majority of studies reported that therapeutic play and clown interventions used for psychological preparation of parents and their children have been effective in minimizing and decreasing anxiety levels.