Parents’ Attributed Gains in Participating in a Telephone-delivered Educational Counseling Program: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Purpose To describe gains child-rearing parents with advanced cancer attributed to their participation in a telephone-delivered educational counseling program on parenting. Methods Parents were eligible if they were diagnosed with advanced stage cancer, rearing a child 5-17 years of age, spoke English among their languages, and had access to a telephone. Single occasion descriptive interview data were obtained from 23 parents in which parents were asked what they gained from the program. Transcribed interviews were analyzed using inductive coding methods derived from grounded field theory. Trustworthiness of study results was protected by coding to consensus, peer debriefing, and maintaining an audit trail. Results The core construct, a Different Way of Parenting, explained parents’ attributed gains which included six domains: Focusing on Myself ; Building on My Listening Skills ; Starting a Conversation with My Child ; Inviting a Dialogue ; Learning about my Child’s Feling s; and Becoming an Observer of My Child’s Behavior. Conclusions A brief, scripted program for parents with advanced cancer added to parents’ self-reported gains in their self-care and parenting competencies.