People who have encountered medical traumas can experience significant changes in their lives. As a result, the family members become caregivers and experience increased stress and ambiguous losses (AL). These losses are often unacknowledged even by the family and cause significant distress. It is important that the family acknowledge these losses and allow themselves time to grieve and adapt to the changes in their lives. While it is widely known that caregivers experience this stress, and programs exist to help support these families, there is less known about the effectiveness of these programs. This study has been designed to explore the commonly used interventions in these programs. The study will use a phenomenological approach and qualitative methodology to identify what aspects of AL is addressed through the existing interventions provided for families following a medical trauma. The researcher hopes that the present study will help in providing insight into the efficacy of existing interventions, and offer modifications that could enhance this efficacy.
","abstract_html":"<p>People who have encountered medical traumas can experience significant changes in their lives. As a result, the family members become caregivers and experience increased stress and ambiguous losses (AL). These losses are often unacknowledged even by the family and cause significant distress. It is important that the family acknowledge these losses and allow themselves time to grieve and adapt to the changes in their lives. While it is widely known that caregivers experience this stress, and programs exist to help support these families, there is less known about the effectiveness of these programs. This study has been designed to explore the commonly used interventions in these programs. The study will use a phenomenological approach and qualitative methodology to identify what aspects of AL is addressed through the existing interventions provided for families following a medical trauma. The researcher hopes that the present study will help in providing insight into the efficacy of existing interventions, and offer modifications that could enhance this efficacy.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ohs, Mynda"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Counseling and Family Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Distelberg, Brian J.","Fox, Curtis A.","Hernandez, Barbara","Oloo, Winetta"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-09-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-09-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:52:52Z","subjects":["Medicine and Health Sciences","Psychology","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Brain Injuries; Family Therapy; Loss (Psychology); Brain Damage -- Patients; Family Psychotherapy","Medical Trauma; Ambiguous Loss; Stress"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/520","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Distelberg, Brian J.","Fox, Curtis A.","Hernandez, Barbara","Oloo, Winetta"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ohs, Mynda"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Counseling and Family Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Medicine and Health Sciences","Psychology","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Brain Injuries; Family Therapy; Loss (Psychology); Brain Damage -- Patients; Family Psychotherapy","Medical Trauma; Ambiguous Loss; Stress"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/520"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["People who have encountered medical traumas can experience significant changes in their lives. As a result, the family members become caregivers and experience increased stress and ambiguous losses (AL). These losses are often unacknowledged even by the family and cause significant distress. It is important that the family acknowledge these losses and allow themselves time to grieve and adapt to the changes in their lives. While it is widely known that caregivers experience this stress, and programs exist to help support these families, there is less known about the effectiveness of these programs. This study has been designed to explore the commonly used interventions in these programs. The study will use a phenomenological approach and qualitative methodology to identify what aspects of AL is addressed through the existing interventions provided for families following a medical trauma. The researcher hopes that the present study will help in providing insight into the efficacy of existing interventions, and offer modifications that could enhance this efficacy.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Indicators of Ambiguous Loss in Families with Traumatic Brain Injured Members"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Distelberg, Brian J.","Fox, Curtis A.","Hernandez, Barbara","Oloo, Winetta"],"dc:creator":["Ohs, Mynda"],"dc:description.abstract":["People who have encountered medical traumas can experience significant changes in their lives. As a result, the family members become caregivers and experience increased stress and ambiguous losses (AL). These losses are often unacknowledged even by the family and cause significant distress. It is important that the family acknowledge these losses and allow themselves time to grieve and adapt to the changes in their lives. While it is widely known that caregivers experience this stress, and programs exist to help support these families, there is less known about the effectiveness of these programs. This study has been designed to explore the commonly used interventions in these programs. The study will use a phenomenological approach and qualitative methodology to identify what aspects of AL is addressed through the existing interventions provided for families following a medical trauma. The researcher hopes that the present study will help in providing insight into the efficacy of existing interventions, and offer modifications that could enhance this efficacy.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/520"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:rights":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."],"dc:subject":["Medicine and Health Sciences","Psychology","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Brain Injuries; Family Therapy; Loss (Psychology); Brain Damage -- Patients; Family Psychotherapy","Medical Trauma; Ambiguous Loss; Stress"],"dc:title":["Indicators of Ambiguous Loss in Families with Traumatic Brain Injured Members"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Counseling and Family Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:52:52Z"}