When a child dies the world should stop spinning: an autoethnography exploring the impact of family loss on occupation.
The death of a loved one disrupts family-members' occupational lives. This paper explores the role and course of occupation during a time when my nephew died. A qualitative research methodology, autoethnography, is used to develop the narrative. I found that familiar occupations lost meaning during this time and even seemed absurd. Paradoxically, occupation helped forge a vital pathway back to health and reconstruction of meaning. Four stages of occupation during a family crisis are proposed: maintenance, dissolution, ambivalence, and restoration and adaptation. Reflections on occupational therapists' role during family crises are discussed, as are implications for further research.
Hoppes
Steve
S
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Oklahoma-Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135, USA. steve-hoppes@ouhsc.edu
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001325:Autobiographies as Topic; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000523:psychology; D009790:Occupations