Levels of Hope in Parents of Chronically Ill Children
Abstract
The concept of hope is a common facet of human existence that most, if not all, share in the journey through life. Hope is a process that relates to areas of rational thought, relationships, experiences, and the spiritual or transcendent realm. In the scientific literature, hope has been positively correlated with quality of life and health outcomes. Functionally, hope has been viewed as a prerequisite to coping, as a coping strategy, and as an outcome in and of itself. As such, it is an important consideration in dealing with patients and their families. In the United States approximately 10.3 million children are faced with some type of chronic illness. Parents of these children face added challenges that bring additional burdens of care and stress. Hope has been shown to be involved in coping with stress, but there is very little in the current literature about levels of hope in caregivers and even less dealing with parental hope. This study measures the levels of hope in parents of chronically ill children and examines the possible correlation between the level of disability the parents perceive in relation to their chronically ill child and the parents' level of hope.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 14, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA405087
Entities
People
- Perry A. Carlson
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology