Father's struggling for relevance in the care of their terminally ill child
Tom Laws
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide SA
PP: 034 - 045
Abstract
Children with terminal illness receive substantial amounts of care from their parents within their home, a palliative care facility or general hospital. Whilst there is a long history of research exploring child and family experiences and coping styles within these settings, the focus has not been on fathers' participation in care-giving.
This phenomenon can be explained by traditional sex-role socialisations whereby men are ostensibly conditioned as breadwinners and mothers remain embedded as the primary carers for children, particularly when illness arises. Nevertheless, nurses report that men do provide direct caregiving or seek to be more involved in caring for their child.
This literature review offers opportunities for health professionals to reflect on the significance of gender in parenting the terminally ill child and to develop empathy for men experiencing difficulties in their role as care-givers. As there is little literature available on this topic, this paper portrays men's experiences and importantly the barriers they encounter in meeting their desire to care. The approach provides a suitable basis for developing a research agenda to promote competencies and relevance for fathers in their role as care-giver.
Keywords
care-giving; male participation; child health; fathers' needs; competency promotion; role barriers; literature review; research agenda
Article Text
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