No.	author	literature	year of issue	Objective	Type of artcle	subject	Support
1	Zaider TI, Salley CG, Terry R, Davidovits M.	Parenting challenges in the setting of terminal illness: a family-focused perspective.	2015	Summarize research findings on parenting challenges and family systems in advanced cancer.	factual investigation	None stated	An important part of the process for children and their parents is to make time to spend together. Increased knowledge of parenting at the end of life is important to provide effective support to the child. Legacy work (e.g., letters, photographs, tangible objects, future plans) are some ways to maintain the parent-child bond after the parent’s death. Open communication with the child is conducive to smooth adjustment to family and daily life after the parent’s death.
2	Cockle-Hearne J, Reed E, Todd J, Ream E.	The dying parent and dependent children: a nationwide survey of hospice and community palliative care support services.	2022	Identify bereavement support provided to families with children.	factual investigation	197 Hospice	Provision of written materials as the type of support provided was reported most frequently before and after the death of a parent. Guidance to outside agencies was also reported at a high rate of over 90%. Individual in-person consultations were reported in the high 80s to low 90s, and web-based support guidance was reported in the low 80s. The number of types of support offered in the entire sample was significantly higher after the death of a parent than before. In the support delivery system, professional counselors typically provided support before and after a parent’s death. Nurses, social workers, and pastors also provided support on a regular basis, but were more involved before death than after. More than 80% of hospices as support targets supported partners and their children together before and after the parent’s death. Opportunity and time to build trust with the family is important in helping the child prepare for the parent’s death, and post-death support is more difficult when support is not provided prior to bereavement.
3	Park EM, Deal AM, Yopp JM, Edwards TP, Wilson DJ, Hanson LC, Rosenstein DL.	End-of-life experiences of mothers with advanced cancer: perspectives of widowed fathers.	2016	Gain a better understanding of the best EOL care for parents with advanced cancer and their families.	factual investigation	344 fathers who have lost a spouse to cancer and are raising children	Fathers who reported clearer prognostic communication between their wives and physicians were associated with lower CES-D and TRIG scores and with having said goodbye to their spouse and children. Only half of the fathers reported saying goodbye to their wives in the last weeks of life, and fathers whose wives were receiving hospice services were more likely to say goodbye to each other before their wives died.
4	Park EM, Deal AM, Yopp JM, Edwards T, Stephenson EM, Hailey CE, Nakamura ZM, Rosenstein DL.	End-of-life parental communication priorities among bereaved fathers due to cancer.	2017	Investigate what is important for dying parents in end-of-life communication.	factual investigation	279 fathers with children bereaved of wives due to cancer	Fathers identified the most important communication in EOL as raising the child in a way that reflected the mother’s wishes, whether/how to talk to the child about the mother’s death, and how the mother wanted to be remembered. Health care providers may be able to promote family connectedness by supporting single parent communication in EOL.
5	Angelhoff C, Sveen J, Alvariza A, Weber-Falk M, Kreicbergs U.	Communication, self-esteem and prolonged grief in parent-adolescent dyads, 1 - 4 years following the death of a parent to cancer.	2021	Examine children who have lost a parent to cancer and their parents’ communication, self-esteem, and prolonged grief.	factual investigation	Adolescents (12 - 19 years old) who lost a parent to cancer 1 - 4 years ago, their parents	For some families, simply encouraging continued communication is sufficient, while for others, more specialized support is needed to strengthen communication between parents and adolescents. Open family communication reduces the risk of long-term grief symptoms.
6	Semple CJ, McCaughan E, Smith R, Hanna JR.	Parent’s with incurable cancer: “Nuts and bolts” of how professionals can support parents to communicate with their dependent children.	2022	Develop a communication framework of “speak, communicate, and share”.	factual investigation	HSCP (:health and social care professionals) (n = 32), bereaved parents (n = 21), funeral directors (n = 23)	Regarding when is the best time to tell the child, it is important that the parents themselves need time to understand and accept the illness, and that the parents tell the child when they are physically able to do so. Regarding the place and time to tell the story, we encourage parents to choose a time and place where the parent’s story will not be interrupted, to take their time to talk with the child and express their feelings, and to plan an event within the family that is not too burdensome, such as going for a walk after the story is told. As for who should tell the child, parents should tell the child because they know the child best. Provide children with honest information about their parent’s prognosis and inevitable death, as well as forward planning for realistic and financial issues for the future. And maintain routines as much as possible and use social networks to create memories as needed. As for what language is appropriate to use, there is a need for clear, factual language that is age appropriate, avoiding euphemisms. Children also want to know, and being informed will increase their options, reshape the family in response to changes in parental status, and promote empowerment.
7	Millar R, Bell M, Casey L.	The Struggle Between Protecting Children From and Preparing Them for the Death of Their Parent: A Qualitative Study.	2023	Understand the support needs of the remaining parents regarding communication with their children.	factual investigation	Parents (surviving spouses) of children under 18 years of age who are bereaved of their father/mother	Children’s questions and concerns are expressed through ongoing communication and conversations with their parents. Some parents were reluctant to accept help from health professionals regarding support for their children, but it is helpful to communicate with them about death and dying. As the family’s needs progress, so does the capacity (coordination) of the health care professional to respond.
8	Fearnley R.	Supporting children when a parent has a life-threatening illness: the role of the community practitioner.	2012	Explore children’s experiences with their parents at the end of life.	factual investigation	Children and adolescents who have experienced parental bereavement	Including the child in conversations about the possibility of parental illness or bereavement demonstrates respect for the child’s position and also helps the child to make some sense of what is happening. All professionals involved with the family have a role in ensuring that the child can participate in discussions and information sharing to the extent that he or she wishes. This role includes direct outreach to the child and indirect outreach through support to parents and other significant family members. Community practitioners have an important role here and need to nurture, develop, and labor them. They have a broad knowledge of how to communicate with families based on family functioning, which they can use to support patients, families, and children, and can inform the wider health care team about the support needed for the child and the holistic needs of the patient. Continued contact with the family after death can provide ongoing care and support for the child.
9	Semple CJ, McCaughan E, Beck ER, Hanna JR.	Living in parallel worlds’ - bereaved parents’ experience of family life when a parent with dependent children is at end of life from cancer: A qualitative study.	2021	Identify the experiences and needs of single parents with children when a parent is terminally ill.	factual investigation	21 parents (12 mothers and 9 fathers) raising children who were survivors	Immediately after the prognosis was declared poor, parents needed to be encouraged to prepare, which meant informing their children of their parents’ poor prognosis and the inevitability of death, so that they could manage their future finances. To facilitate these preparations, health care professionals provide information surrounding the reality of a poor parental prognosis, as well as up-to-date information needed when death is imminent. Alongside this, it was necessary to explain to the child, in age-appropriate language, the death of his or her father or mother.
10	Saldinger A, Cain A, Porterfield K.	Managing traumatic stress in children anticipating parental death.	2003	Investigate the traumatic stress of children whose parents are expected to die and the role played by the remaining single parent.	factual investigation	School-aged children who have lost a parent and their single parent	During the end-of-life phase, some single parents suppressed their own emotions for the sake of their children, while others were unable to cope with their own feelings about the impending death of their spouse and could not turn to their children. The traumatic stress of anticipated death affects the entire family, and children do not always understand or cope with the anxiety, anger, and depression of the parent in end-of-life care, and the coping behaviors of the single parent who is left behind can be similarly upsetting.
11	Hanna JR, Semple CJ.	“I didn’t know what was in front of me”-Bereaved parents’ experience of adapting to life when a co-parent of dependent children has died with cancer.	2022	Clarify the daily life of the surviving single parent after the parent with the child dies of cancer.	factual investigation	21 single parents (12 mothers and 9 fathers) with children under 18 years of age who have lost their partner to cancer	Encourage the bereaved parent to practice self-care and utilize support from social networks in the abyss of isolation and efforts to be the perfect parent. Family-based bereavement support groups should be utilized immediately following the death of a parent to provide support and practical guidance to both the bereaved parent and the child. Bereaved families who had received family support services stated that it was beneficial to meet with others who had experienced similar situations. It was important for the children to dialogue with each other, as they could gain insight into how they overcame the situation at milestones, such as listening to other bereaved families and spending their first vacation after the death of a parent. By recognizing that there were other children who had lost a parent, they heard about others’ experiences and gained hope for the future. If one parent had concerns about the child, they were shared with the school and the teacher reported the situation to the school on how the child was doing. They believed it was important to talk about the deceased parent within the family. For many survivors, it is important to stay involved with the family so that the child does not forget the deceased parent.