School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Kate Granger Building, 30 Priestley Road, Surrey Research Park, Guildford, Surrey, England, GU2 7YH, UK.
Department of Pastoral and Spiritual Care, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Barrack Road, Exeter, Devon, England, EX2 5DW, UK.
BMC Palliat Care. 2024 May 17;23(1):122. doi: 10.1186/s12904-024-01452-0.
Annually, approximately five per cent of dependent children - aged under eighteen years - in the United Kingdom (UK), experience parental death. Nurses and social workers caring for parents with life-limiting illnesses, including cancer, help families support their children. However, these professionals have been found to lack confidence and competence in fulfilling this role.
We conducted three rounds of a classic-Delphi survey to identify and measure a panel of topic experts' consensus on the priorities and issues for nurses and social workers when supporting families and children through parental death. The Delphi survey was conducted with a panel of UK topic experts (n=43) including lead health and social care professionals (n=30), parents bereaved of a partner whilst parenting dependent children (n=6), academics (n=4) and bereaved young adults (n=3).
Ninety per cent (n=18/20) of the issues for nurses and social workers and all (7/7) of the priorities rated and ordered in the survey achieved consensus. Key priorities were 1) training in opening conversations with families about dependent children, 2) training and support for nurses and social workers to manage their own and others' emotions arising from conversations with parents about children's needs regarding parental death, and 3) increasing nurses' and social workers' knowledge of sources of information to support families before the death of a parent.
We identified priorities for UK nurses and social workers. Further research is needed to identify which of these nurses and social workers would benefit most from support, and how any resultant interventions could enhance confidence and competence in helping families to support children through parental death.
在英国，每年约有 5%的未成年子女（18 岁以下）经历父母死亡。照顾患有绝症（包括癌症）的父母的护士和社会工作者帮助家庭支持他们的孩子。然而，这些专业人员在履行这一角色方面被发现缺乏信心和能力。
我们进行了三轮经典德尔菲调查，以确定并衡量一组英国主题专家小组对护士和社会工作者在父母去世时支持家庭和儿童的优先事项和问题的共识。德尔菲调查是与英国主题专家小组（n=43）进行的，包括主要的卫生和社会保健专业人员（n=30）、有未成年子女的父母丧偶（n=6）、学者（n=4）和丧偶的年轻人（n=3）。
90%（n=18/20）的护士和社会工作者的问题以及调查中评分和排序的所有（7/7）优先事项都达成了共识。主要的优先事项是 1）培训护士和社会工作者如何与家属开启关于未成年子女的对话，2）培训和支持护士和社会工作者管理自己和他人与父母谈论子女在父母去世时的需求时产生的情绪，以及 3）增加护士和社会工作者在父母去世前为家庭提供支持的信息来源的知识。
我们确定了英国护士和社会工作者的优先事项。需要进一步研究，以确定哪些护士和社会工作者最需要支持，以及任何由此产生的干预措施如何增强他们在帮助家庭支持孩子度过父母去世的过程中的信心和能力。
