子育て中にがんで配偶者を亡くした母親が死別後に子どもと生きていく生活の中での体験

Mothers' Experiences of Raising Their Children After Having Lost a Spouse to Cancer

要旨

　本研究の目的は，子育て中にがんで配偶者を亡くした母親が死別後に子どもと生きていく生活の中での体験を明らかにすることである．対象者4名に，半構造的面接法によりデータ収集を行い，質的記述的研究法に基づき分析を行った．結果は6つのカテゴリーに分類された．子育て中にがんで配偶者を亡くした母親の体験は，【1人で子育てをする孤独感】【子どもの前で悲しむ姿を見せられない】【子どもとの関係に戸惑う】【子どもがいることで助けられる】【周りの人に支えられる】【思い出と共に子どもと前向きに生きる】の6つであった．母親は1人で子育てをする孤独感の中で，死別体験をした子どもとの接し方への戸惑いを感じていた．母親は，「子どもがいたら普通に過ごしていかなければいけない」と，自らの悲しみを表出できず，子どもと父親の死について話すことはできなかった．また，子どもに病状をはっきりと伝えないことは，死別後の悲嘆反応に影響するため，子どもも親の看取りに参加でき，納得できるお別れができるように看護師が配慮することが必要である．父親を亡くした子どもと，子育て中に配偶者を亡くした母親という2つの悲嘆を親子で乗り越えることへの支援の必要性が示唆された．

　This study aims to clarify the experience of mothers who raise their children alone after having lost their spouse to cancer. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with four research participants, after which were subjected to analysis based on a qualitative descriptive methodology. The results were divided into six categories. The experiences of mothers whose partners had passed away were categorized as follows: “A sense of isolation as a result of raising the children alone”; “Not wanting to express grief in front of the children”; “Perplexity about how to interact with the children”; “Being helped by the presence of the children”; “Being supported by people around them”; and “Living positively with the children along with the memories of their husband”. Mothers experiencing a sense of isolation at having to raise children alone also felt confused about how to interact with their bereaved children. Feeling that “as long as the children are here, I have to continue on as normal,” the mothers felt unable to express their own sorrow and were similarly unable to discuss the father's death with their children. Conversely, they felt the presence of the children helped them, and the fact that they were making positive attempts to cope was also presented as a notable characteristic. In the course of this experience, it became apparent that these mothers felt buoyed by the assistance provided by those around them. In addition, when children were not clearly informed of their father's condition, it influenced the grief reaction after bereavement. It is therefore required that nurses take care of them so that children can be with their fathers at the end and understand the need for bereavement. This suggests the necessity of support to help mothers and children overcome both the grief of children losing their father and a child-rearing mother losing a husband to cancer.