Semester Award Granted

Spring 2025

Submission Date

May 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Charlotte Barry

Abstract

Caring for children with cancer may bring short and long-term challenges to families due to added healthcare activities focused on the ill child or adolescent. Among available resources and support strategies, religiosity/ spirituality (R/S) have been increasingly identified as a source of comfort.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experience and interpret the findings of spiritual practices for caregivers of children with cancer in Thailand. A purposive sampling method was used to recruit participants, with semi-structured interviews. Swanson’s Theory of Caring provided the theoretical underpinning of the study, and Deikelmann’s seven-stage process was adapted for analysis. Twelve participants, including mothers, fathers, and grandmothers caring for children with cancer were interviewed. Four relational themes emerged: Nurturing inner peace through religious practices, balancing new responsibilities with the commitments of family work and worship, engaging in self-care to ameliorate stress and despair, and feeling gratitude for community support. The results offer insight into caregivers’ experiences of finding meaning and purpose in the most difficult of circumstances, and caregivers’ experiences of engaging in religious and non-religious practices or connection to self and environment.

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