Children as Next of Kin and the General Practitioner, 2015

Children of parents suffering from mental health illnesses, substance abuse or severe somatic illnesses are vulnerable and at risk of psychosocial and somatic illnesses. In addition they often tell about stigma, shame and fear, feelings of responsibility, loneliness, and depression during childhood. They are in need of coordinated and comprehensive care, with a solid base in primary care. Little is known about how the general practitioners can contribute in identifying and establishing well-functioning su pport for these children and their families. The objective of this project was to generate knowledge on how general practitioners can aid children as next of kin. The topic was addressed seen from the perspective of three groups: the burde ned children, their parents, and the general practitioners. Data was collected from focus group interviews with children as next of kin 10-15 years of age and experienced general practitioners, in-depth interviews with parents from the target groups and a e-mail based survey to all registered Norwegian general practitioners based on the hypotheses from the results of the analyses of the qualitative data. The project group was interdisciplinary and international, although the core group was based in Norway.

父母罹患精神疾病、物质滥用或严重躯体疾病的儿童属于脆弱群体，罹患社会心理疾病与躯体疾病的风险显著升高。此外，该群体儿童在童年时期常面临病耻感、羞耻与恐惧情绪，同时背负责任感、陷入孤独与抑郁状态。他们亟需依托基层医疗体系构建协同化、全方位的照护服务。目前学界对全科医师（General Practitioners）如何识别这类儿童及其家庭，并为其建立高效支持体系尚缺乏深入认知。本研究的核心目标，在于探究全科医师如何为作为至亲家属的儿童提供帮扶支持。本研究从三类群体的视角展开议题探讨：承受照护负担的儿童、其患病父母，以及全科医师。研究数据采集方式包括：对10至15岁的至亲家属儿童与资深全科医师开展焦点小组访谈，对目标群体的患病父母进行深度访谈，同时基于定性数据分析结果提出研究假设，向挪威所有注册全科医师发放电子邮件调查问卷。本项目团队兼具跨学科与国际化属性，核心研究团队驻扎于挪威。