ArticlePalliative medicine2022
'It was like an airbag, it cushioned the blow': A multi-site qualitative study of bereaved parents' experiences of using cooling facilities.
Article in Palliative medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Economic costs of health and social care for a child with a life-limiting condition in their last year of life: a systematic review.BMJ paediatrics open · 2025Pooled it
- End of life care in paediatric settings: UK national survey.BMJ supportive & palliative care · 2025Article
- End of life care for infants, children and young people (ENHANCE): Protocol for a mixed methods evaluation of current practice in the United Kingdom [version 1; peer review: 2 approved].NIHR open research · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEvidence on the benefits to parents of spending time with their child in the hours after their death means this is now routine practice. UK children's hospices offer parents the opportunity to extend this period by using cooling facilities (i.e. cooled 'bedrooms'; cooling blankets/mattresses) to slow deterioration.
aimTo explore parents' experiences of using cooling facilities and beliefs about how it shaped experiences of the very early days of bereavement, and on-going grieving processes.
methodsMulti-site study involving in-depth interviews with parents bereaved in the previous 3 years. Grief theories informed data analysis, which employed narrative and thematic approaches. Eight hospices supported recruitment.
resultsTwenty-two mothers and eight fathers were recruited, representing 25% of families approached. Duration of use of a cooling facility varied, as did the amount of time spent with the child. All parents treasured this period, valuing the way it eased separation from their child and gave some control over when this happened. They believed all bereaved parents should have the opportunity to use a cooling facility. Using a cooling facility supported parents' engagement with grief tasks including acceptance of loss, processing emotional pain and facing changes to their lives brought about by their child's death. Memories and mementoes created during this period served to support on-going connections with the child. Parents who used a cooling facility at a hospice reported benefits of the setting itself.
conclusionsAs well as easing the very early days of loss, use of cooling facilities may influence longer-term bereavement outcomes.
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