Living in Hope and Desperate for A Miracle: NICU Nurses Perceptions of Parental Anguish

Green, J

Living in Hope and Desperate for A Miracle: NICU Nurses Perceptions of Parental Anguish

Green, J

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Religion and Health, 2014, 54 (2), pp. 731 - 744
Issue Date:: 2014-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Green, J https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2938-6694	en_US
dc.date.issued	2014-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Religion and Health, 2014, 54 (2), pp. 731 - 744	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0022-4197	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/36746
dc.description.abstract	© 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York. The birth of an extremely premature baby is a tragedy, and it is only natural that the parents will rely on the spiritual and religious beliefs that guide the rest of their lives. At this difficult time, parents with strong religious beliefs will hope for divine intervention and pray for a miracle. This paper outlines the difficulties experienced by neonatal nurses when caring for an extremely premature baby whose parents hold on to hope and their belief in divine intervention and a miracle. Data were collected via a questionnaire to Australian neonatal nurses and semi-structured interviews with 24 neonatal nurses in NSW, Australia. A qualitative approach was used to analyse the data. The theme of “hoping for a miracle” was captured by two sub-themes “praying for a miracle” and “oscillating between hope and despair”. For some families, the hope of divine intervention seemed all consuming, and the nurses were witness to the desperation and disappointment of families when a miracle was not forthcoming.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Religion and Health	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/s10943-014-9971-7	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Social Psychology	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Focus Groups	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Attitude of Health Personnel	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Parents	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Qualitative Research	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Religion and Medicine	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Intensive Care Units, Neonatal	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Australia	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Female	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Interviews as Topic	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Hope	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Critical Care Nursing	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Surveys and Questionnaires	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Nurses, Neonatal	en_US
dc.title	Living in Hope and Desperate for A Miracle: NICU Nurses Perceptions of Parental Anguish	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	54	en_US
utslib.for	1117 Public Health and Health Services	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CHSP - Health Services and Practice
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Students
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	2	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	54	en_US

Abstract:

© 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York. The birth of an extremely premature baby is a tragedy, and it is only natural that the parents will rely on the spiritual and religious beliefs that guide the rest of their lives. At this difficult time, parents with strong religious beliefs will hope for divine intervention and pray for a miracle. This paper outlines the difficulties experienced by neonatal nurses when caring for an extremely premature baby whose parents hold on to hope and their belief in divine intervention and a miracle. Data were collected via a questionnaire to Australian neonatal nurses and semi-structured interviews with 24 neonatal nurses in NSW, Australia. A qualitative approach was used to analyse the data. The theme of “hoping for a miracle” was captured by two sub-themes “praying for a miracle” and “oscillating between hope and despair”. For some families, the hope of divine intervention seemed all consuming, and the nurses were witness to the desperation and disappointment of families when a miracle was not forthcoming.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/36746