Peer support among parents of children with congenital heart defects: A qualitative analysis of written responses submitted via an online survey.
Tommy Carlsson, Anna Klarare, Elisabet Mattsson
PMID 33009854WHAT IT FOUND
Parents of children with congenital heart defects said peer support gave emotional relief, practical information and hope, but also reported exclusion, distressing messages and withdrawal.
Key findings
01Parents said peer support helped them talk about sensitive topics and feel understood.
02Some parents said peers gave clearer and more valuable practical information than health professionals.
03Some parents reported distressing peer interactions, feeling excluded, and withdrawal from peer activities.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study used convenience sampling through a foundation newsletter and Facebook groups, so parents who did not seek peer support or who left because of negative experiences may be missing. Four fathers responded, so fathers' experiences are not well represented. The online written survey cannot be assumed to apply beyond Swedish parents recruited through these networks. Twelve respondents did not answer any open-ended questions, and researchers could not ask follow-up questions. The analysis was done mainly by one researcher, with a second author checking the findings.
Declared interests
No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that peer support works. The study describes experiences from 61 parents recruited through peer networks, not a measured outcome, and some parents reported distress and withdrawal.