Diagnostic closure and the spread of uncertainty

Abstract

When a child is diagnosed with a life-threatening, chronic illness, the taken-for-granted world of the child's parents is destroyed. From that moment on, they must learn to manage life under very uncertain conditions. The findings reported here are from a more comprehensive grounded theory study that sought a plausible explanation for parental behavior under conditions of sustained uncertainty. This report describes the emergence of uncertainty as a multidimensional concept that permeates every aspect of family life following the diagnostic announcement. The noncategorical nature of the dimensions of uncertainty found in all life-threatening, chronic childhood illnesses provides a strong argument for preparing nurses in specialties that are conceptually, rather than medically, based.