Perinatal bereavement: a principle-based concept analysis
Aim To report an analysis of the concept of perinatal bereavement. Background The concept of perinatal bereavement emerged in the scientific literature during the 1970s. Perinatal bereavement is a practice‐based concept, although it is not well‐defined in the scientific literature and is often inter...
Saved in:
Published in | Journal of advanced nursing Vol. 69; no. 11; pp. 2389 - 2400 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
England
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
01.11.2013
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | Aim
To report an analysis of the concept of perinatal bereavement.
Background
The concept of perinatal bereavement emerged in the scientific literature during the 1970s. Perinatal bereavement is a practice‐based concept, although it is not well‐defined in the scientific literature and is often intermingled with the concepts of mourning and grief.
Design
Concept Analysis.
Data sources
Using the term ‘perinatal bereavement’ and limits of only English and human, Pub Med and CINAHL were searched to yield 278 available references dating from 1974–2011. Articles specific to the experience of perinatal bereavement were reviewed. The final data set was 143 articles.
Review methods
The methods of principle‐based concept analysis were used. Results reveal conceptual components (antecedents, attributes and outcomes) which are delineated to create a theoretical definition of perinatal bereavement.
Results
The concept is epistemologically immature, with few explicit definitions to describe the phenomenon. Inconsistency in conceptual meaning threatens the construct validity of measurement tools for perinatal bereavement and contributes to incongruent theoretical definitions. This has implications for both nursing science (how the concept is studied and theoretically integrated) and clinical practice (timing and delivery of support interventions).
Conclusions
Perinatal bereavement is a multifaceted global phenomenon that follows perinatal loss. Lack of conceptual clarity and lack of a clearly articulated conceptual definition impede the synthesis and translation of research findings into practice. A theoretical definition of perinatal bereavement is offered as a platform for researchers to advance the concept through research and theory development. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | NINR - No. F-31NR010816-01A2 Data S1. Final data set references. ArticleID:JAN12119 istex:25E4F0C09B4849BAE0ED4821A4BF7E9EF9DA27B4 ark:/67375/WNG-6QM4QD5L-G ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 |
ISSN: | 0309-2402 1365-2648 |
DOI: | 10.1111/jan.12119 |