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Strategies for Enhancing Children’s Resilience during Wartime Crises: A Qualitative Study Comparing the Perspectives of Mothers and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) Nurses
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Atefeh Shamsi    , Narges Hashemi * |
| Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Centre, Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran , setare137030@gmail.com |
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Abstract: (220 Views) |
Background & aim: Children facing war and humanitarian crises are exposed to various psychological and social stressors that can adversely affect their mental health and development. Despite such adversity, many children maintain adaptive capacity and psychological recovery. This phenomenon, known as resilience, is shaped by a combination of individual, familial, and social factors. This study aimed to explore and compare strategies for enhancing children's resilience during wartime crises from the perspectives of mothers and PICU nurses.
Methods: This qualitative study used conventional content analysis and was conducted in 2026 at Imam Hussein Children’s Hospital in Isfahan, Iran. Participants included 20 mothers and 15 pediatric intensive care unit nurses who were selected through purposive sampling with maximum variation. Data were collected through individual in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the Graneheim and Lundman approach. Data collection continued until saturation was achieved.
Results: Analysis identified eight main themes: (1) relational resilience and emotional co-regulation, (2) cognitive resilience and cultural meaning-making, (3) child agency and voice, (4) play and creativity in trauma processing, (5) social and institutional support, (6) strategies for strengthening resilience, (7) convergence and divergence of caregiving perspectives, and (8) resilience as negotiated co-regulation. The findings indicated that supporting child resilience is a dynamic, multilevel process extending from emotional co-regulation and supportive family relationships to cognitive and cultural meaning-making, child participation, play and creative activities, social connectedness, and access to institutional resources. The overarching theme of “resilience as negotiated co-regulation” reflected the continuing interaction among children, families, nurses, and broader support systems in shaping and strengthening resilience.
Conclusion: Enhancing child resilience during war requires coordinated multilevel supportive strategies that simultaneously address family relationships, emotional regulation, child agency, cultural resources, social support, and professional and institutional interventions. Negotiated co-regulation may provide a useful conceptual framework for developing family-centered and system-level interventions to support the mental health of children affected by war and humanitarian crises. |
Article number: 5 |
| Keywords: Resilience, Child, War, Supportive Strategies, Crisis, Mother, Nurse |
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Full-Text [PDF 1461 kb]
(53 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2026/05/17 | Accepted: 2026/06/27 | Published: 2026/07/11
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