Background: Anticipatory grief is a common but understudied phenomenon among parents of children with advanced cancer. Appropriate coping with anticipatory grief may promote better adaptation before and after the death.

Objective: To explore the anticipatory grief experiences and coping approaches of such parents in Shanghai, China.

Methods: Using Husserlian phenomenology approach, 4 fathers and 16 mothers were interviewed at the Children's Medical Center in Shanghai. The transcripts were analyzed using Colaizzi phenomenological methods.

Results: Five themes were developed. The first theme described anticipatory grief experiences characterized by trauma and chronic misery, and the next 4 themes described how the parent coped with the grief through avoidance, acceptance, hope, and being present-focused. Parents coped differently at different times-from diagnosis, the time while the child was on treatment, to the time the parents could consider the possibilities of an uncertain future. The study also found that coping with grief is an intrapersonal and interpersonal process.

Conclusion: The study offers insights into parents' dynamic coping processes when living with grief. Nurses could play a critical role in facilitating this process of living with grief.

Implications for practice: Oncology nurses, by understanding parents' anticipatory grief, can align themselves with the parents' coping processes to provide appropriate support.

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背景：

预感性哀伤是儿童晚期癌症患者父母中常见但研究不足的现象。适当的应对方式有助于在孩子去世前后更好地适应。

目标：

探讨中国上海此类家长的预感性哀伤体验和应对方法。

方法：

采用胡塞尔现象学方法，对上海市儿童医学中心的4位父亲和16位母亲进行了访谈。使用Colaizzi现象学方法分析了访谈记录。

结果：

研究发展出了五个主题。第一个主题描述了以创伤和慢性痛苦为特征的预感性哀伤体验，接下来的四个主题则描述了父母如何通过回避、接受、希望以及专注于当下应对悲伤的过程。家长在不同时间段采取不同的应对方式——从诊断时到孩子治疗期间，再到考虑不确定未来的时刻。研究还发现，处理悲痛是一个内在和人际过程。

结论：

该研究为生活在哀伤中的父母动态适应过程提供了见解。护理人员可以在此过程中发挥关键作用。

实践意义：

肿瘤科护士通过理解家长的预感性哀伤，能够与家长的应对方式相匹配，提供适当的支持。

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