title: Constantly responsible, constantly worried, constantly blessed: parenting after pediatric heart transplant.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Very little research has focused on the long-term caregiving demands associated with parenting a child after a transplant or on the parents' perceptions of those demands.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe parents' experiences parenting a school-aged child after heart transplant.
  
  
  METHODS
  Focused ethnography.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven parents of children who had undergone heart transplant 2 or more years before the study were recruited from a large children's hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parents were interviewed in a private location of their choice. Verbatim interview transcripts were analyzed by using content analysis and constant comparison.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The parents described their experiences in positive terms, yet acknowledged hardships. Key themes included (1) constantly responsible, (2) constantly worried, (3) constantly blessed, and (4) coping with life. The identified themes provide direction for interventions to help parents cope with the experience of parenting a child after heart transplant.
authors: Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock 72202, USA. GreenAL@archildrens.org
authors: Angela
authors: A
authors: Green
authors: Julie
authors: J
authors: Meaux
authors: Amy
authors: A
authors: Huett
authors: Kathy
authors: K
authors: Ainley
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001131:Arkansas; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology; D006701:Home Nursing / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires