Managers information sheet and consent forms

Get Complete Project Material File(s) Now! »

METHODOLOGY

This is a small, exploratory qualitative study using a thematic analysis approach. Participants were divided into two groups – one for those with grandparents of children who have died, and the other for grandparents of children who are terminally ill or severely disabled. The reason for dividing the groups was because hearing about experiences from the contrasting stages in the grandparenting relationship being with the former could have been too distressing for members of either group.
Each group attended one focus group and one follow-up meeting. The follow-up meeting was explained to group members as a way for them to share thoughts about their experiences that may have come up after the focus group. It was explained that it was not compulsory to attend this meeting, and if a participant couldn’t attend they could share their thoughts via email or phone.

Methodology

To gain some understanding of the bereavement experiences of grandparents, and how they are supported, or not, by the community led me to choose a qualitative methodology approach for this study, where participants could share their individual experiences without the constraints of a fixed survey, this would create a fluidity where a wider investigation could be made. Qualitative research
is art and science, it’s a way for a researcher to investigate real-world social phenomena – to ask questions and be open to getting complex and unexpected answers (Rossman & Rallis, 2012).
According to Rossman and Rallis (2012), there are two unique features to qualitative research: Firstly, the study is conducted through the researcher, which is why the positioning of the researcher is important in understanding the research – it allows for any biases or expectations of the researcher to be noted, and the purpose is to understand something about the social world and how it operates.
McLeod (2003), suggests that qualitative research allows participants to share their experiences, perspectives and views in their own words.
I chose focus groups as a way to collect my data as according to research (Krueger, 1994) focus groups are carefully planned discussions that are specifically designed in order to study an area of interest in an environment that is both permissive and non-threatening “a focus group is a carefully planned discussion designed to obtain perceptions on a defined area of interest in a permissive, nonthreatening environment” (Krueger, 1994). It was a way for the grandparents to discuss their experiences with me, the researcher, and each other in a safe environment where they and I could gauge commonality and individuality of their processes around the death/disability of their grandchild. I could also gauge whether it was helpful for them to share their experiences with myself and the others who had gone through the same kind of experience, with a view of finding whether this kind of sharing had helped them cope with their grief.

The questions

As a grief and loss counsellor, I thought about what aspects of the grandparents’ experiences I was most interested in and what questions would help gain an understanding of the grandparents’ experiences and needs. When a child is seriously disabled, ill or dies, often grandparents are seen as part of the support system for the parents and siblings of the child, but it seemed their grief and
disempowerment in the situation in which they were not usually the decision makers could be hard to bear. I was interested in the factors that could complicate their grieving experience – particularly if they were dealing with what’s called disenfranchised grief (Doka, 2002).
As suggested by Onwuegbuzie, Dickinson, Leech and Zoran ( 2009), firstly I identified the type of data that could be collected in the focus groups – and set questions accordingly. Because I wanted the grandparents to share their experiences in an organic way, and not to impose things on to them, I saw the questions I collated (Appendix A) as a loose blueprint that I could refer to in the focus groups rather than prescribed questions I would ask one after the other.

Participants in the qualitative study

Participation was completely voluntary, and participants, as a consequence to that, were grandparents who were very involved with their grandchildren, rather than ones who were more distant (Erber, 2005). I contacted various organisations, including Child Cancer, Age Concern, a bereaved parents support group and a major children’s hospital. The hospital were particularly helpful and recruited a number of the participants, who then got into contact with me. All the grandparents who wanted to take part were accepted.

CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
3. METHOD
4. RESULTS
5. RESULTS
6. DISCUSSION
7. CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
APPENDIX A: Focus group questions
APPENDIX B: Participants’ consent sheet
APPENDIX C: Advertisement for research project
and participant information sheet
APPENDIX D: Managers information sheet and consent forms

GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT
The grief-related experiences of grandparents when a child has died or is terminally ill / severely disabled