What effect does spiritual wellbeing have on parents of a baby with incurable heart disease? A qualitative study.

Abstract

Background: Birthing a baby with an incurable heart condition can be very stressful for the parents. Healthcare providers should find practical solutions to support these parents and assist them in managing the situation.

Aim: To explore how Iranian parents use spiritual wellbeing to cope with a baby with incurable heart disease.

Methods: A conventional content analysis approach was used in this qualitative study. A total of 32 semi-structured individual interviews with the parents of babies with incurable heart diseases from a university hospital in Kerman. The participants were selected by purposive sampling from April to May 2020. The Guba and Lincoln criteria were applied to verify the data's trustworthiness, and conventional content analysis was used for data analysis.

Results: Following the analysis of the data from parents' experiences, the main category emerged as 'spiritual wellbeing' with three subcategories: 'spiritual beliefs', 'hope for the future' and 'spiritual happiness'.

Conclusion: This study highlights spiritual wellbeing as a central factor in how parents cope with the profound challenges of caring for a baby with incurable heart disease. Spiritual beliefs, hope for the future and spiritual happiness collectively enabled parents to find meaning, maintain resilience and reduce psychological distress. The findings also underscore a critical gap in clinical practice, particularly the lack of mental and spiritual support from healthcare professionals. Integrating evidence-based spiritual care into nursing practice can enhance parents' coping mechanisms and support them through such deeply challenging experiences.