Beyond the Loss of a Child in the NICU: The Social Worker's Role

The following is a two-paper dissertation exploring the role of social workers in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The classical and contemporary perspectives of grief theory provide the framework for understanding emotional responses of bereaved parents to the death of a child. The academic social work, medical, and nursing literature reviewed support the hypothesis that social workers are an insufficiently tapped resource in working with bereaved parents who have experienced perinatal loss in the NICU and revealed contributing factors for current medical social work practices. The accompanying article discusses the role of social workers and the areas that demonstrate their expertise. The article also conceptualizes the design of a bereavement program for perinatal loss using the established adult and pediatric hospice and palliative care models. This dissertation contributes to social work practice in the NICU and grief literature knowledge base by acknowledging the disenfranchisement of bereaved parents who have experienced perinatal loss in the NICU, supporting collaborations with other professionals on the NICU interdisciplinary team, and proposing a prospectus program design.

Author dc:creator

• Quann-Walker, Anniesha D

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Dr. Carolyn Walter
• Dr. Aileen McCabe-Maucher

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/32973

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.upenn.edu:20.500.14332/32973