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Development CONNECT toolkit

About this research

The CONNECT study is a scientific research project in which insights have been collected about sense-making in parents who care for a child with a life-threatening illness.

In collaboration with experts and parents from the field, a training course and a toolkit have been developed with practical guidelines that care providers can use in the home situation to better recognize, acknowledge and discuss parental questions about meaning, and provide appropriate support where necessary.

Research team: dr. Marijke Kars (project leader), Dr. Mary Brouwer, dr. Marianne Angel.

Contact: connect.zingeving@umcutrecht.nl

Content of the study

CONNECT is a collaborative project between parents, professionals and researchers. In this action research, we first collected experiences about how parents deal with meaning and life questions, and which bottlenecks parents and caregivers experience when providing support.

We did this by:

  • Hold focus groups with parents, care providers and chaplains to gain insight into the bottlenecks they experience.
  • An interview study with experienced parents to gain insight into how they deal with meaning and life questions.
  • A literature study to collect international insights.

Subsequently, in collaboration with parents, care providers and other experts from the field, a toolkit and training was developed that can help care providers to better support parents with meaning and life questions. The toolkit and training have been tested and evaluated in practice by care providers and parents. Based on these insights, the materials have been further developed to better meet their needs.

Would you like to read more about the CONNECT study findings? A number of our insights are currently being elaborated in scientific publications. Once published, they will be included on the Knowledge Center website.

Cooperation partners

The CONNECT study is a collaborative project of UMC Utrecht, the Knowledge Center for Palliative Care for Children, and the Networks for Integral Child Care, and parents and professionals working in child care and children's hospitals. The project is funded by ZonMw.

Our thanks go to:

  • All parents and professionals who participated in the focus groups and interviews
  • The members of our project group and development group who contributed ideas during the project and the development of the materials
  • The caregivers and parents who have tested and evaluated the CONNECT toolkit in practice.
  • Everyone who contributed ideas and helped with the implementation of the CONNECT project.