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“It is like going to school” - an ethnographical field study of a Swedish supporting program for children who lost a parent : “It is like going to school” - an ethnographical field study of a Swedish supporting program for children who lost a parent

Karidar, Hakima LU orcid ; Lundqvist, Pia LU and Glasdam, Stinne LU (2022) International konferens för palliativ vård p.3-3
Abstract
Background
A parent’s death is a dramatic event, and it can affect children in many ways, both acutely and long-term.
Aim
To explore how children who had lost a parent were included, acted, and interacted in a support program focusing on relational and contextual aspect.
An ethnographic field study consisting of 82 hours of observations, 25 semi-structured interviews, and one focus group interview.
Six children, aged 10-14, six parents, and eight voluntary program facilitators participated.
A Braun and Clarke (2006) inspired thematic analysis was conducted through a theoretical lens inspired by Bourdieu’s concepts of field, capital, doxa, and power.

Results
Different strategies for children´s... (More)
Background
A parent’s death is a dramatic event, and it can affect children in many ways, both acutely and long-term.
Aim
To explore how children who had lost a parent were included, acted, and interacted in a support program focusing on relational and contextual aspect.
An ethnographic field study consisting of 82 hours of observations, 25 semi-structured interviews, and one focus group interview.
Six children, aged 10-14, six parents, and eight voluntary program facilitators participated.
A Braun and Clarke (2006) inspired thematic analysis was conducted through a theoretical lens inspired by Bourdieu’s concepts of field, capital, doxa, and power.

Results
Different strategies for children´s inclusion in the program
The starting point for children´s participation in the support program required that adults recognized that children needed support
Professionals in school and healthcare introduced the support program for parents and children
Volunteers in the support program assessed whether the children met the inclusion criteria or not
Volunteers and parents collaborated in motivating adolescents to participate
in the program
Some children appreciated the idea and were willing to participate in the program
others hesitated to participate but were persuaded by their parents to participate

Medico-psychological understanding of grief and suffering

The structure and content of the program were based on a medical-psychological
understanding of grief and bereavement
Children understood that adults thought it was important for them to talk about their situation
Some children shared the medical and psychological understandings of grief and suffering with the adults, others did not
Some children preferred not to have external support in relation to their bereavement, while others appreciated the idea

Reproduction of the logic of the school
The program was similar to the school´s logic both in context, roles, and approaches
Volunteers acted as teachers and the children acted as pupils, mostly performing as what was expected of them
Mostly, children interacted with each other during the program’s breaks

Conclusion
Children’s access to support were governed by adults who had the mandate to assess and plan different support strategies. The structure of and the roles in the support program was similar to the school system, where children easily fit into familiar patterns and roles. Medical and psychological understandings of grief, suffering, and grief processing were dominant in the program. The study pointed to the importance of adults being sensitive to children’s individual needs for support as they could vary. The children’s needs of support were not always consistent with adults´ ideas of good support. It is appropriate to involve children who have lost a parent in the development of future support efforts aimed at them.
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
published
subject
pages
3 - 3
conference name
International konferens för palliativ vård
conference location
Arhus, Denmark
conference dates
2022-11-16 - 2022-11-18
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b35b3d9d-b927-4240-8092-a70df5148b99
date added to LUP
2023-10-13 13:51:27
date last changed
2023-10-16 07:12:14
@misc{b35b3d9d-b927-4240-8092-a70df5148b99,
  abstract     = {{Background <br/>A parent’s death is a dramatic event, and it can affect children in many ways, both acutely and long-term. <br/>Aim <br/>To explore how children who had lost a parent were included, acted, and interacted in a support program focusing on relational and contextual aspect.<br/>An ethnographic field study consisting of 82 hours of observations, 25 semi-structured interviews, and one focus group interview.<br/>Six children, aged 10-14, six parents, and eight voluntary program facilitators participated. <br/>A Braun and Clarke (2006) inspired thematic analysis was conducted through a theoretical lens inspired by Bourdieu’s concepts of field, capital, doxa, and power.<br/><br/>Results<br/>Different strategies for children´s inclusion in the program <br/>The starting point for children´s participation in the support program required that adults recognized that children needed support<br/>Professionals in school and healthcare introduced the support program for parents and children <br/>Volunteers in the support program assessed whether the children met the inclusion criteria or not<br/>Volunteers and parents collaborated in motivating adolescents to participate <br/>in the program<br/>Some children appreciated the idea and were willing to participate in the program<br/>others hesitated to participate but were persuaded by their parents to participate<br/><br/>Medico-psychological understanding of grief and suffering<br/><br/>The structure and content of the program were based on a medical-psychological <br/>understanding of grief and bereavement <br/>Children understood that adults thought it was important for them to talk about their situation<br/>Some children shared the medical and psychological understandings of grief and suffering with the adults, others did not<br/>Some children preferred not to have external support in relation to their bereavement, while others appreciated the idea<br/><br/>Reproduction of the logic of the school<br/>The program was similar to the school´s logic both in context, roles, and approaches<br/>Volunteers acted as teachers and the children acted as pupils, mostly performing as what was expected of them<br/>Mostly, children interacted with each other during the program’s breaks  <br/><br/>Conclusion<br/>Children’s access to support were governed by adults who had the mandate to assess and plan different support strategies. The structure of and the roles in the support program was similar to the school system, where children easily fit into familiar patterns and roles. Medical and psychological understandings of grief, suffering, and grief processing were dominant in the program. The study pointed to the importance of adults being sensitive to children’s individual needs for support as they could vary. The children’s needs of support were not always consistent with adults´ ideas of good support. It is appropriate to involve children who have lost a parent in the development of future support efforts aimed at them.<br/>}},
  author       = {{Karidar, Hakima and Lundqvist, Pia and Glasdam, Stinne}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{11}},
  pages        = {{3--3}},
  title        = {{“It is like going to school” - an ethnographical field study of a Swedish supporting program for children who lost a parent : “It is like going to school” - an ethnographical field study of a Swedish supporting program for children who lost a parent}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}