Thesis (M.Ed.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2001. / Bibliography: leaves 112-123.

Pediatric cancer imposes a threat on the child’s life and approximately every fifth child diagnosed with cancer will die due to his or her disease. The overall aim of this thesis was to explore palliative care of children with cancer and bereaved family members. The thesis includes data collected retrospectively from medical records, a nationwide questionnaire directed to bereaved parents, a nationwide questionnaire for bereaved siblings and individual interviews with children in cancer care. Most children dying from cancer were recognized as being beyond cure at time of death; for some this recognition occurred close to death, leaving little time for potential personal preferences (Paper I). Bereaved parents and siblings noticed extensive suffering in the child close to death (Paper II, VI), with physical fatigue being the most commonly reported symptom irrespectively of age and diagnosis of the child (Paper II). Bereaved parents’ psychological well-being appears to be closely related to experiencing suffering in the dying child (Paper III) but also to high-intensity treatment (with bone marrow transplant as the example) of a child that still dies from his or her disease (Paper IV). Bereaved siblings experience a lack in information at the end of their brother’s or sister’s life and report feeling poorly prepared for the loss. An increased risk of anxiety was seen in siblings whom nobody talked to about what to expect at the time of death of their brother or sister (Paper VI). When caring for children with cancer it is vital to take the individual child’s awareness and preferences regarding information into consideration. Bereaved parents who have communicated with their child about death expressed that this often occurred at the child’s own initiative (Paper V) and simple means such as fairy tales could be used to facilitate communication. Ill children themselves expressed in interviews wanting honest, but still hopeful information regarding bad news (Paper VII). The results of this thesis stress the importance of striving to achieve good communication and keeping a family perspective throughout care of children with cancer.

Not only does South Africa have the largest number of people with HIV/AIDS in the world, it continues to have a high mortality rate associated with AIDS due to the limited availability of antiretroviral treatment in this country. While a body of empirical research has developed in the West on the issue of AIDS-related bereavement, it has limited applicability to the South African context where the daily lives of people infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS are markedly different to those in more developed countries in the West, in terms of the extent of HIV-related morbidity and mortality, poverty, stigma, availability of social support, gender inequality, medical treatment, welfare services and government policies. An exploratory, descriptive study was therefore undertaken to examine AIDS-related bereavement experiences among adults in KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. Qualitative face-face interviews were conducted with 18 adults who had lost one or more significant others to AIDS. Qualitative face-face interviews were also conducted with eight professionals working in non-governmental organizations in KwaZulu-Natal that served people affected by HIV/AIDS to obtain their perspectives on the issue of AIDS-related bereavement among clients and how they were addressing this issue within their organizations. A social ecological framework was used to understand participants' experiences with AIDS-related bereavement. Two major themes emerged: participants had to keep their grief to themselves and more urgent life stresses took priority in their lives. A conspiracy of silence existed as a result of the high level of stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and a perceived lack of both informal and formal support for those infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Grief was treated as a "luxury" in a sense and energies had to be focused on daily survival needs. Participants tended to suppress their emotions and relied on inner resources, in particular finding meaning in their loss and relying on their religious faith. Interviews with professionals confirmed these themes. Recommendations are made at both the local and national levels to address AIDS-related bereavement. It is suggested that while individual and group interventions should be developed for those at risk for complicated grief as a result of an AIDS-related loss, the focus needs to be on structural changes such as reducing HIV-related stigma, combating poverty, encouraging men to play a more active role in the care and support of those who are ill with HIV/AIDS or bereaved by the disease, and improving the status and capability of the social work profession to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic within the South African welfare policy framework. Further research needs to be conducted on AIDS-related bereavement in the South African context, considering the magnitude of AIDS-related loss and bereavement and the scarcity of indigenous information about this issue. Collaborations between researchers, practitioners and the bereaved are encouraged both in South Africa and internationally to highlight the unique nature of AIDS-related bereavement in the South African context and to test the efficacy of indigenous strategies and interventions to address AIDS-related bereavement. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

A qualitative approach was used to study the lived experiences of bereaved daughters who experienced childhood maternal loss due to cancer. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine women. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and content analysis was used to find recurring themes. Twelve themes emerged: initial grief reactions to maternal loss, death becomes a real part of life, loss of mother projected into the future throughout life, integrating maternal loss, self before and after maternal loss, mother as part of myself, mother-daughter relationship, personal attributes that emerged from maternal loss, reaching age of maternal death, seeking maternal influence from other women, becoming a maternal/feminine influence for others, and change in relationship with father. Findings indicate that grieving maternal loss is a unique and individual process that has a profound impact on a young woman’s life by affecting her sense of self and relationships with others. Implications of findings are presented for health care professionals

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the function of religious faith in the bereavement process. Contemporary studies which have a psychological orientation have tended to disparage the role of faith in working through grief. This tendency has contributed to the role of faith not being thoroughly investigated to discover why it is a poor predictor of the outcome of bereavement. A detachment process theory which analyses the function of faith from a theological perspective was proposed. This hypothesis, that the reservoir of the individual's inner resources: (i.e., i) meanings envisaged in hope, ii) faith as a life-force, and iii) the ordering of one's world) is basic in resolving grief to reach a normal state. To test whether this hypothesis is tenable a field survey was carried out among a group of bereaved persons and helping professionals to examine the function of faith during the bereavement process. This thesis is divided into five sections. The first section explores the historical approaches to bereavement, which concerns the development of attitudes towards death from Greek times to the contemporary era. The second section examines the past research and theories relevant to the bereavement process from both religious and psychological viewpoints. The third section presents the proposed detachment process theory alongside the field survey which was carried out in Aberdeen and its environs. The data from the survey was analysed by Chi-square (X²) and Mann-Whitney test. The fourth section explores the theological imperatives in respect to the devastating effects arising from the loss of a 'significant other' by death. The study concludes in section five with a summary of the findings and their implications for those involved in helping the bereaved persons. The questionnaires which were utilised in the field survey are included in this section. The salient factor in this research is that: faith is impinged upon by the bereaved person's beliefs about the hereafter. The beliefs acquired after the loss of a 'significant other' are not cognate with those held in the nonbereaved community of believers.

A mail survey was conducted with 49 suicide survivors from 13 different suicide support groups across Canada. Participants were asked about their experiences of grieving a suicide and if the suicide was part of a cluster. Quantitative and qualitative research methodology was used in the coding and analysis of the data. A theory diagram was devised to test four hypotheses. Results of the regression analyses contradicted one hypothesis: showing that an increase in coping mechanisms may heighten levels of grief for a suicide survivor. The number of possible suicide linkages was highly significant with 5 of the 49 participants answering positively when asked if the suicide they were grieving was part of a cluster. Suicide bereavement groups were consistently rated as beneficial or very beneficial by participants. Lastly, content analysis of the open-ended questions showed a common experience of stigma associated with a suicidal death for survivors.

Thesis (MA(Psychology))-University of Pretoria, 2006. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-111).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of English, General Literature and Rhetoric, 2007. / Free verse and prose poems. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MSocSci(Social Work and Criminology))-University of Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.