From vicious cycle to meaning reconstruction: caregiving experience of parents of children with eczema

Abstract

BACKGROUND: czema is a chronic skin disease that affects a large population worldwide. Children with eczema not only suffer from physical and emotional disturbances, their parents may also experience various kinds of social and psychological distresses in the caregiving process which will subsequently challenge their core values, philosophies and attitudes towards life. OBJECTIVE: To understand lived experiences of parents of children with eczema. METHOD: Ten parents of children with eczema were invited for a semi-structured interview. In addition to the parental stress and coping strategies, the sense-making and benefit-finding mechanism in their eczema caregiving experience were explored. Data were examined by adopting the Constructivist Grounded Theory. RESULT: A vicious cycle emerged as most representative of their caregiving experiences: 1) affective apprehension, 2) caregiving related concerns, and 3) relationship dynamics. Some parents, however, were still able to identify the benefits in the stressful journey by revisiting their core beliefs and values. CONCLUSION: Despite parental stress from various dimensions in the caregiving process, some parents were able to go through a meaning reconstruction process which resulted in a spiritual growth and a positive attitude in facing the challenges. This highlights the importance of maintaining psychosocial wellbeing of parents of children with eczema.