How Parents Cope With a Child With Cystic Fibrosis

Abstract

A major problem confronting the health-care system today is the effect of chronic illness on the family (MacVicar & Archibold, 1976). If the family member with the chronic illness is a child, the impact is enormous when superimposed on the complex dynamics of the family in general (Zamerowski, 1982). The most critical influences on the adaptation of the family to the illness as well as on the growth and development of all its members are the responses of the parents. Therefore, an understanding of the parents' responses to chronic illness in their child is vital. The case of cystic fibrosis (CF) in a child was chosen to demonstrate the impact of chronic illness on the family. Although sound medical treatment is necessary for management of this disease, the successful care of a CF child depends upon the parents' willingness to modify family life in response to a complex, time-consuming regimen of daily therapy (McCubbin et al., 1983).