Parent's Lived Experience of Memory Making With Their Child at or Near End of Life.
Terrie Clarke, Michael Connolly
PMID 34530625WHAT IT FOUND
All six bereaved mothers found tangible memory-making items, such as hand moulds and footprints, deeply comforting.
They valued staff introducing this concept sensitively, though they were often unprepared for the intense emotional impact of receiving the finished keepsakes.
Key findings
01Participants valued staff introducing the concept of memory making, as they would not have thought to do it themselves during their distress.
02Receiving the tangible creations was more emotional and powerful than parents anticipated, highlighting a need to better prepare families for this experience.
03Tangible mementos helped parents remain connected to their child and provided comfort during grief, with some families waiting weeks or months to receive them when ready.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study included only six participants, all of whom were mothers, so fathers' experiences were not represented. All participants were recruited from a single children's hospice service in Ireland. The principal researcher had a prior professional relationship with all participants, which may have influenced their willingness to participate or the nature of their responses.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and received no financial support for the research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that memory making reduces clinical outcomes like anxiety or complicated grief based on this paper. The study reports the subjective lived experience and emotional comfort of six mothers, not a measured reduction in adverse psychological outcomes.