Being invigorated in parenthood: parents' experiences of being supported by professionals when having a disabled child.
The purpose of the study was to know the meaning of parents' experiences of being supported by professionals when having a child with disability. Data were obtained through unstructured interviews with 16 parents within 10 families and analyzed by a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach. Parents narrated experiences of being supported and not being supported, and the findings are presented as contrasting meanings. Being supported by professionals means gaining confidence as a parent and having the child seen as valuable. This is interpreted as being invigorated in parenthood, where sharing the mutual task and goal, which is the child's best, with professionals is a crucial aspect. The meaning of experiences of lack of support illuminates the consequences for the entire family's well-being and the struggle parents experience to gain confidence as parents and recognition of the child as valuable.
Lindblad
Britt-Marie
BM
Department of Health Sciences, University of Borås, Sweden. Britt-Marie.Lindblad@hb.se
Rasmussen
Birgit H
BH
Sandman
Per-Olov
PO
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006694:Holistic Health; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D033262:Narration; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden