Barn som pårørende til traumepasienter

Objective: The primary objective of this project thesis is to map out the knowledge that exists regarding children as next of kin to trauma patients. An additional aim is to explore what kinds of needs these children have. Finally, the thesis will shed some light on the Norwegian laws concerning children as next of kin. Methods: Literature review. Results: 16 publications were included. As was excerpts from four different Norwegian laws. The studies differed somewhat in regard to their choice of primary focus and method. The first topic explored, was the needs of next of kin to trauma patients, which turned out to be particularly that of information. Secondly, there was the subject of emotional reactions, adjustment and parenting in the aftermath of parental trauma. The findings appeared to revolve around post-traumatic stress symptoms and depression. The third focus area was clinical guidelines and laws, emphasising how to handle children as next of kin. The material encompassed literature reviews, clinical guidelines, quantitative and qualitative studies. Conclusion: This thesis covered a subject that is in dire need of more research. The limited number of relevant articles made it difficult to reach any final conclusions. However, there are some important tendencies worth mentioning. Mainly, children as next of kin to trauma patients expressed a need for more information about their parents’ condition and the subsequent long-term consequences. All forms of communication with these children have to be individualised. In Norway, healthcare workers are compelled by law to attend to children as next of kin. There is also supposed to be personnel dedicated to children as next of kin