ArticlePalliative & supportive care2026
Ambiguous loss in family caregivers of patients in a permanent vegetative state: A reflexive thematic analysis.
Article in Palliative & supportive care, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Bearing the Weight of End-of-Life Work: A Qualitative Study of Emotional Experience and Coping Among Palliative Care Professionals in Northern Italy.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesFamily caregiving for individuals in a permanent vegetative state (PVS) represents an extreme form of ambiguous loss characterized by prolonged emotional strain, suspended grief, and profound identity disruption. Despite its complexity, few qualitative studies have examined how families navigate this uniquely challenging condition and construct meaning around it.
methodsAdopting a phenomenologically informed, interpretative approach, we conducted semistructured interviews with 13 family caregivers (in northeastern Italy). Data were analyzed via reflexive thematic analysis, following Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) guidelines.
resultsFour interconnected themes emerged: (1) "the paradoxical coexistence of presence and absence"; (2) "identity disruption and emergent growth"; (3) "bodily relational practices that sustain emotional bonds and resist biomedical finality"; and (4) "the 'double face' of waiting and farewell, spanning ontological and biological loss." Caregivers described symbolic acts that maintain relational continuity and challenge dominant medical framings of the patient's body. SIGNIFICANCE OF
resultsAmbiguous loss in PVS should be understood as a dynamic relational and symbolic process rather than a static burden. Effective support must honor families as active meaning-makers. Clinical practice and policy should integrate narrative and relational ethics to mitigate prolonged grief and enhance caregiver resilience.
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