ABRIDGED VERSION: STILLBIRTH AND SIDS: SUPPORTING PARENTS

摘要

Health visitors' ability to offer bereavement support to those parents who have experienced child death is questionable, according to Rudd and D'Andrea (2013) and Wender (2012), who expressed concerns about public health nurses, such as HVs, being unprepared. This view is echoed by Perfect (2014), and Dent (2002) described how most HVs stopped visiting after the post-death visit, leaving parents feeling unsupported. Perfect (2014) added that HVs are unaware of parental support needs after the death of a child. This is in spite of government policies, such as the Healthy Child Programme, that emphasise the need for HVs to assist parents requiring support with their emotions, which if left unattended, could lead to depression, complicated mourning or death (Giijzen et al, 2016; Stroebe et al, 2007).