title: A tortuous route to a capable fatherhood: the experience of being a father to a child with severe haemophilia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Haemophilia is a chronic illness that affects the whole family as the child's reactions to the illness occur in interaction with the parents. Limited research has been conducted on how fathers of children with haemophilia experience their life situation.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to describe the lived experience of being a father to a child with severe haemophilia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Individual, qualitative interviews were conducted with 14 fathers of 17 children with severe Haemophilia A. Data were analysed by means of a phenomenological hermeneutic method, including naïve reading, structural analysis and comprehensive interpretation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results revealed that the fathers gradually grew into fatherhood through a process that can be explained in the metaphor, 'A tortuous road to a capable fatherhood'. The fathers experienced sorrow, powerlessness, concern and loss of a regular fatherhood after the child's diagnosis. The loss of an envisaged fatherhood emerged as the greatest sorrow of being a father to a child with haemophilia. When home treatment with factor concentrates functioned without the involvement of Health Care Personal (HCP), the fathers' sense of insufficiency decreased.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A sense of being a capable father was associated with a sense of independence and control of one's life situation. Support from the Haemophilia Treatment Centre (HTC) in the learning process is essential for both parents of a child with severe haemophilia. Awareness of the fathers' struggle to feel capable is also vital while supporting the family in the first years after diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Coagulation Centre, Department of Medicine/Haematology and Coagulation Disorders, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Myrin Westesson
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Care Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sparud-Lundin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Care Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wallengren
authors.affiliation: Coagulation Centre, Department of Medicine/Haematology and Coagulation Disorders, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Baghaei
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004644:Emotions; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology*; D006467:Hemophilia A; D065026:Hope; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011209:Power, Psychological
keywords: experience; fathers; haemophilia; interview; phenomenological hermeneutic method; psychosocial