After a child's acquired brain injury (ABI): An ethnographic study of being a parent

PURPOSE:

To explore the meanings associated with being a parent of a child with an aquired brain injury (ABI).

METHODS:

An ethnographic study was conducted with parents of children aged 3 to 10 years who had acquired a severe brain injury. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit parents from the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta. Data collection involved participant observation, fieldwork and semi-structured interviews. Field notes and interviews transcriptions were analysed using a thematic analysis framework and informed by symbolic interactionism theory.

RESULTS:

Six parent dyads (mothers and fathers) and 4 mothers participated in the study.

Parents' meanings of `parenting' a child with severe brain injury were shaped by the injury, wide range of familial dynamics, and interactions. Six main themes related to parental meanings emerged from our data: (1) Getting `back to normal'; (2) Relying on a support system; (3) Worrying something bad may happen after the injury; (4) Going through a range of emotions following the injury; (5) Changing family dynamics after the injury; and (6) Ongoing performativity.

CONCLUSION:

Parents' meanings of `parenting' a child are extensively impacted by their child's functioning after the ABI. Having a greater appreciation of these experiences may be beneficial for medical professionals.