Exploration of Spiritual Healing Practices and Cultural Beliefs of Grieving Parents After Child Loss: A Qualitative Study in Northeastern Thailand
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60099/prijnr.2025.270478Keywords:
Child death, Cultural beliefs, Death rituals, Grief, Parents, Spiritual healing, Qualitative studyAbstract
Culture is central to many people’s belief systems, and death is an arena for the enactment of cultural beliefs likely to be a central part of coping and adjustment in grief caused by the death of a loved one. This qualitative study aimed to explore the cultural beliefs and spiritual healing practices grieving parents in Nakhon Phanom applied to cope with the loss of a child. Twenty parents living in Nakhon Phanom experiencing the loss of a child between the ages of 1 day and 18 years within the last 6 months to 2 years were recruited by purposive sampling according to the inclusion criteria. Data were collected through in-depth interviews from March to July 2023 until data was saturated. Content analysis was conducted to analyze the data. The findings revealed two themes: 1) following traditional ways (which involved calling the spirit home, severing ties with the deceased, realizing the truth of life through scattering cracked rice, dispelling sorrow and enhancing auspiciousness, and inquiry into existence through calling upon spirits or bueng vinyan); and 2) following teachings and rituals related to Buddhist beliefs (involving funeral rites related to Buddhist beliefs, and teachings of Isaan proverbs about Dhamma).
This is the first study on this topic in Nakhon Phanom that provides valuable insights into how parents in Nakhon Phanom use cultural and spiritual practices to overcome grief after losing a child. These findings can inform the development of culturally sensitive nursing care plans that better support bereaved families. By integrating culturally relevant practices into nursing care, nurses can help guide families through the grieving process while respecting their spiritual and cultural values.
References
Punaglom N, Kongvattananon P, Bih-Ching Shu. Overcoming grief in Thai women experiencing perinatal death: a grounded theory study. PRIJNR [Internet]. 2022 Sep. 12 [cited 2024 Sep. 11];26(4):627-41. Available from: https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/PRIJNR/article/view/259267
Punaglom N, Kongvattananon P, Shu B-C. Grief journey: perception and response based on cultural beliefs in Thai women experiencing perinatal death. PRIJNR [Internet]. 2022 Mar. 5 [cited 2024 Sep. 11];26(2):327-40. Available from: https://he02.tci-
thaijo.org/index.php/PRIJNR/article/view/256521
Goldstein RD, Petty CR, Morris SE, Human M, Odendaal H, Elliott A, et al. Pre-loss personal factors and prolonged grief disorder in bereaved mothers. Psychol Med. 2019;49(14):2370-8. doi:10.1017/S0033291718003264.
Flach K, Gressler NA, Marcolino MAZ, Levandowski DC. Complicated grief after the loss of a baby: a systematic review about risk and protective factors for bereaved women. Trends Psychol. 2023;31:777-811. doi: 10.1007/s43076-021-00112-z.
Lykke C, Ekholm O, Schmiegelow K, Olsen M, Sjøgren P. Anxiety and depression in bereaved parents after losing a child due to life-limiting diagnoses: a Danish nationwide questionnaire survey. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2019;58(4):596-604. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2019.06.025.
Pitman AL, King MB, Marston L, Osborn DPJ. The association of loneliness after sudden bereavement with risk of suicide attempt: a nationwide survey of bereaved adults. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2020;55(8):1081-92. doi: 10.1007/s00127-020-01921-w.
Pelacho-Rios L, Bernabe-Valero G. The loss of a child, bereavement and the search for meaning: a systematic review of the most recent parental interventions. Curr Psychol. 2023;42:25931-56. doi:10.1007/s12144-022-03703-w.
Wright PM. Perinatal loss and spirituality: a metasynthesis of qualitative research. Illn Crises Loss. 2020;28(2):99-118. doi:10.1177/1054137317698660.
Sawangsang W. Status of Thaen in Isan culture. JPR KKU. 2021;6(1):82-110 (in Thai).
Phra Phromkhunaporn (P.O. Payutto). Buddhadhamma. Sahathamika, Bangkok. 2006 (in Thai).
Saleepun N, Singyabuth S. Dramatic Art : the identity of Phuthai Renunakorn ethnic in the cultural society of Thai state. [Dissertation]. [Nakhon Pathom]: Mahasarakham University; 2021. Available from: http://202.28.34.124/dspace/handle123456789/1378 (in Thai).
Betsch T, Jäckel P, Hammes M, Brinkmann BJ. On the adaptive value of paranormal beliefs – a qualitative study. Integr Psychol Behav Sci. 2021;55(2):318-28. doi:10.1007/s12124-020-09594-5.
Kain VJ. Perinatal palliative care: cultural, spiritual, and religious considerations for parents—what clinicians need to know. Front Pediatr. 2021;9:597519. doi:10.3389/fped.2021.597519.
Phrakhrupalad Rangsan Khunsaro, Phrakhru Bhavana bodhikun, Leeka J, Phramaha Prateep Abhivaddhano, Phramaha Jinkamol Abhitano. An analytical study of philosophy in funerals of Buddhists in Roi Et province. JG-MCUKK. 2021;8(4):212-24 (in Thai).
Phrakru Sopitsiridham Siridharo, Sinthunok B, Namket S. An Application of the belief in the spiritual possession of the community in the area of municipality of Nongbua sub-district, muang district, Udon Thani province. JOMLD. 2021;6(2):169-81 (in Thai).
Punaglom N, Tangvoraphonkchai J. Bueng Vinyan ceremony: healing behavior of grief who losing a child. Journal of Nursing Science & Health. 2015;38(Suppl):17-25 (in Thai).
Vegsund HK, Reinfjell T, Moksnes UK, Wallin AE, Hjemdal O, Eilertsen MB. Resilience as a predictive factor towards a healthy adjustment to grief after the loss of a child to cancer. PLoS One. 2019;14(3):e0214138. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0214138.
Cann CK. editor. Dying to eat: Cross-cultural perspectives on food, death, and the afterlife. University Press of Kentucky; 2018.
Tateo L. Cultural mediation of grief: the role of aesthetic experience. CULT PSYCHOL. 2023;29(3):411-33. doi:10.1177/1354067X221145901.
Shi F. Lessons from Master Hongyi’s experiences with impermanence for death education. Religions. 2024;15(5):528. doi:10.3390/rel15050528.
Sumicad R, Apostol EL, Gutang S, Añana SMV, Cañete JMD, Cagay JV, et al. Perception of psychology students on cremation. BJPSH. 2023;3(2):35-50. doi:10.32996/pjpsh.2023.3.2.4.
McNeil MJ, Baker JN, Snyder I, Rosenberg AR, Kaye EC. Grief and bereavement in fathers after the death of a child: a systematic review. Pediatrics. 2021;147(4):e2020040386. doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-040386.
Turale S. A brief introduction to qualitative description: a research design worth using. PRIJNR [Internet]. 2020 Jul. 9 [cited 2024 Sep. 16];24(3):289-91. Available from: https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/PRIJNR/article/view/243180
O’Brien BC, Harris IB, Beckman TJ, Reed DA, Cook DA. Standards for reporting qualitative research: a synthesis of recommendations. Acad Med. 2014;89(9):1245-51. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000000388.
Sebele-Mpof FY. The sampling conundrum in qualitative research: can saturation help alleviate the controversy and alleged subjectivity in sampling?. Int J Soc Sci Stud. 2021;9(5):11-25. doi:10.11114/ijsss.v9i5.5294.
Elo S, Kyngäs H. The qualitative content analysis process. J Adv Nurs. 2008;62(1):107-15. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04569.
Lincoln YS, Guba EG. Naturalistic inquiry. Sage, Thousand Oaks (CA). 1985. doi: 10.1016/0147-1767(85)90062-8.
Rosenblatt PC. Grief: the social context of private feelings. J Loss Trauma. 1993;7(1):13-24.
Walsh F, McGoldrick M. editors. Living beyond loss: Death in the family. W. W. Norton & Company; 2004.
Phrachonyanmuni, Wongsaard S. Buddhism and belief. J of Palisueksabuddhaghosa Review. 2020;6(2):99-115 (in Thai).
Thongthao P, Liamprawat S. The roles of beliefs about the spirit to Isan society: a case study of Ubonratchatani. JLARSU. 2020;15(2):221-36 (in Thai).
Yasien-Esmael H, Rubin SS. The meaning structures of Muslim bereavements in Israel: religious traditions, mourning practices, and human experience. Death Stud. 2005;29: 495-51. doi: 10.1080/07481180590962668.
Smid GE, Groen S, de la Rie SM, Kooper S, Boelen PA. Toward cultural assessment of grief and grief-related psychopathology. Psychiatr Serv. 2018;69(10):1050-52. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201700422.
Worden JW. Grief counseling and grief therapy: A handbook for the mental health practitioner. Springer Publishing, New York. 2009.
Phra Phromkunaphon (P.A. Payutto). Hell-Heaven in the Tripitaka. Pim Suay Company Limited, Bangkok. 2004 (in Thai).
Kulik B. The role of the faith in Jesus Christ in the family experience of grief. Religions. 2023;14(12):1523. doi:10.3390/rel14121523.
Silverman PR, Klass D. Continuing bonds: another look at grief. Death Stud. 1996;20(5):489-505.
Salenius P. Sociological and psychological effects of stillbirth: theory, research, and midwifery. Br J Midwifery. 2019;27(10):616-9. doi:10.12968/bjom.2019.27.10.616.
Faro L. Monuments for stillborn children and disenfranchised grief in the Netherlands recognition, protest and solace. Mortality (Abingdon). 2021;26(3):264-83. doi:10.1080/13576275.2020.1779202.
Kittivanno V. Development of doctrinal exposition of Buddhism through Phaya verse of Esarn. JSSP. 2020;2(2):1-12 (in Thai).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Pacific Rim International Journal of Nursing Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright: The Pacific Rim International Journal of Nursing Research, Thailand Nursing & Midwifery Council has exclusive rights to publish, reproduce and distribute the manuscript and all contents therein.
.png)
