A pilot study of disease related education and psychotherapeutic support for unresolved grief in parents of children with CF

Diagnosis of chronic disease in a child can result in unresolved grief (UG) in parents. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of psychological insight-oriented therapy (IOT) as a treatment for UG compared to disease related education in parents of children with cystic fibrosis (CF). Sequence of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Scientific reports Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 5746
Main Authors:	Schultz, André, Barrett, Andrea, Balding, Elizabeth, Billingham, Wesley, Branch-Smith, Cindy, Grover, Zubin, Yikilmaz, Gisele, Bourke, Crystal, Depiazzi, Julie, Sander, Nicole, Foster, Juliet, Cooper, Matthew, Zepf, Florian
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London Nature Publishing Group UK 06-04-2022 Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio
Subjects:	631/477 692/699/1785/4039 ACTRN ACTRN12621000796886 Child Children Cystic fibrosis Cystic Fibrosis - therapy Education Grief Humanities and Social Sciences Humans Intervention Mental Health multidisciplinary Parents & parenting Parents - psychology Pilot Projects Science Science (multidisciplinary) Statistical analysis
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Summary:	Diagnosis of chronic disease in a child can result in unresolved grief (UG) in parents. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of psychological insight-oriented therapy (IOT) as a treatment for UG compared to disease related education in parents of children with cystic fibrosis (CF). Sequence of delivery, first IOT then disease related education (or vice versa) was also examined, to let all participants experience both interventions. Parents were screened for UG. Parents with UG were randomised to either five 1-h sessions of IOT or five 1-h sessions of education. Measures were assessed pre-intervention, after the first intervention period (primary efficacy assessment), and after the second intervention period (swapping intervention). Forty-seven parents were screened of which 46.8% (22/47) had UG. Median duration of UG was 5 years (range: 6 months–14 years). Anxiety (50% vs. 20%, p = 0.03) and stress (59% vs. 28%, p = 0.03) were significantly more prevalent in parents with UG. There was no difference between arms in the odds of UG resolving either following the first intervention period (OR 0.88; 95% CI 0.5, 1.5) or the second intervention period (OR 0.91; 95% CI 0.5, 1.6). While not statistically significant, adjusted mean values for seven of the eight mental health measures were lower in the IOT (first) arm compared to the ED (first) arm, following the first intervention period. UG is a significant burden for families affected by CF. Provision of disease related education and psychological support, regardless of sequence, can result in resolution of grief. Trial registration number: ACTRN12621000796886, date of registration 24/06/2021, retrospectively registered.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 ObjectType-News-3 content type line 23
ISSN:	2045-2322 2045-2322
DOI:	10.1038/s41598-022-09463-8