Faculty Collaboration Database

A Concept Analysis of Parental Uncertainty in Illness of an Infant. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs 2019;44(4):206-211

Date

07/02/2019

Pubmed ID

31261298

DOI

10.1097/NMC.0000000000000535

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85069261642 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   9 Citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The concept of uncertainty in illness has been well described and applied to many different areas of nursing and other disciplines. Specifically, parental uncertainty in illness of an infant is a meaningful concept that has specific attributes and implications. A current concept analysis that considers the changing healthcare setting, historical conceptual inconsistencies, and a lack of information concerning parents of infants is needed.

PURPOSE: To identify essential antecedents, attributes, and consequences of parental uncertainty in illness using Rodgers' Evolutionary Concept Analysis method.

METHODS: A literature search was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycInfo. The following keywords were used in combination using the Boolean terms "AND" and "OR": parental uncertainty; infants; parental uncertainty in illness; preterm infants; parent; uncertainty.

INCLUSION CRITERIA: articles published between 2000 and 2017 and published in English. The search included 38 articles published from 2000 to 2017 with a specific focus on parental uncertainty in illness.

FINDINGS: Parental uncertainty in illness of an infant is a paradoxical, cognitive, and emotional experience in which there is an inability to create meaning and may cause disruption in parental role development.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Nursing care of parents with ill infants and children must include sensitivity to parents' experiences of uncertainty in illness. Nurses are uniquely positioned to normalize parental uncertainty and facilitate healthy coping.

Author List

Malin KJ, Johnson TS

Author

Teresa Johnson PhD Associate Professor in the Nursing department at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adaptation, Psychological
Cost of Illness
Humans
Infant
Infant, Extremely Premature
Infant, Newborn
Parents
Uncertainty