Abstract
An end-of-life vigil is the act of being with another towards death. A family vigil is a phenomenon that occurs when one or more significant others gather by the bedside of a family member in the weeks, days, or hours prior to death. There is a scarcity of research with specific focus on end-of-life vigil keeping, yet it is not unusual for nurses who minister to the dying to be present, bear witness and share in this human experience. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore form, structure and meaning of the lived experience of vigil keeping for a dying family member at the end of life, using hermeneutic phenomenology as methodology. In-depth semi-structured interviews with 14 individuals who kept vigil were transcribed, analyzed and interpreted using van Manen's process of hermeneutic analysis.
Sigma Membership
Mu Epsilon, Omicron Sigma at-Large
Type
Dissertation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Phenomenology
Research Approach
Qualitative Research
Keywords:
End-of-Life Vigil, Family Care, Transitions
Advisors
Donohue-Porter, Patricia
Degree
PhD
Degree Grantor
Adelphi University
Degree Year
2018
Recommended Citation
Fleming-Damon, Colleen, "Being a constant presence in a sea of change: The lived experience of vigil keeping for a family member at end of life" (2020). Dissertations. 1040.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/dissertations/1040
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.
All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
None: Degree-based Submission
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2020-03-23
Full Text of Presentation
wf_yes
Description
This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. The author still retains copyright.