Parents' Perceptions of Their Children's Lung Transplant Experiences

Abstract

There is little informationfrom the perspective of parents living with a child who has undergone lung transplantation. A phenomenological approach integrating Schutz's postulatesfor the construction of social reality with Colaizzi's method of analysis was used to investigate the meaning of the experience. Fifteen parents of 12 children were interviewed. Theme clusters reflecting the meaning of the stages of the transplantation experience were formulated. Parents perceived lung transplantation as creating hope for the future, creating a context of uncertainty and an opportunity for normalcy, and promoting the development of a new perspective on life. Humanistic nursing practice theory provided the link between study results and nursing practice. Implicationsfor nursing practice were identified.