The current study utilized the Delphi methodology to collect the opinion of "experts" in the clinical treatment and/or study of physically traumatized children and their families on the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Nurses, social workers, psychologists, a physician, and a family therapist were asked to identify sources of stress, response patterns, and coping mechanisms that they believe are experienced/exhibited by family members following a physically traumatizing event and the child's subsequent treatment on a PICU. / Analysis of data after two rounds of information gathering revealed areas where consensus was reached. This final profile of the expert collaborators perceptions of the family experience throughout this post-trauma period is presented. / Seven research conclusions, all based on the final profile identified by the expert collaborators, are also discussed. These conclusions include: (1) family members appear to demonstrate symptoms of a secondary traumatic stress reaction throughout their post-trauma and PICU experience; (2) the sources of stress specific to the child's traumatizing event and physical injuries indicate that the family may be impacted more by the child's critical injuries than by the actual traumatizing event; (3) the sources of stress specific to the PICU, appear to be primarily associated with family concerns about the child's physical condition and family issues of safety, trust and a sense of personal control; (4) family system functioning appears to be impacted by the traumatic event and family experience on the PICU; (5) family member's attempts to deal with multiple stressors associated with the traumatic event, the child's injuries and the PICU may result in a cumulative experience of a Systemic Traumatic Stress Reaction within the family system; (6) the impact of culture/racial/class issues are the only areas of disagreement that were identified by the expert collaborators; and (7) the Internet is perceived to have limited value as a means for carrying out the research process. / The Internet computer network was utilized as a method of recruiting "expert" collaborators and as a means of data collection. A discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of this study and the use of the Internet as a research tool are also noted. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-08, Section: B, page: 4234. / Major Professor: Charles R. Figley. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77547 |
| Contributors | Barnes, Michael Francis., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 240 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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