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What will taking part involve for me?
Are there any potential risks or discomforts or benefits?
Confidentiality and Data Protection
What will happen to the results?
Purpose of the Study
This research project seeks to understand the experience of bereaved families after the passing of a child, including changes to consumption. By listening to your stories and perspectives, we hope to understand your experiences of loss, how this has impacted you in your everyday life. The research focuses on exploring how bereaved families can be best supported and how resilience can be enabled among communities and society.
Why am I invited?
You are invited to take part because you are a parent who has experienced the loss of a child. We want to give voice to bereaved parents so that their perspective can be better understood in order to support them as well as others.
Participation is completely voluntary. If you decide to take part, you can still change your mind later. You can decline to answer a question in the interview or withdraw from the interview at any time. You can withdraw from the study at any stage up to two weeks after your interview.
What will taking part involve for me?
If you agree, you will be invited to take part in a single semi-structured interview. A semi-structured interview means we will refer to a list of open-ended topics and questions (called an interview guide), allowing you to talk about what matters most to you at your own pace.
Interviews typically last 60 to 90 minutes, but it is completely up to you based on how much you want to share. It can take place face-to-face in a private space in either your home or at an appropriate neutral location of your choosing, or online via an encrypted video link (e.g., Microsoft Teams/Zoom)—whichever you prefer and feel most comfortable with.
With your explicit permission, the interview will be audio-recorded to ensure we accurately capture your thoughts. You can ask to pause or turn off the recorder at any time. You may also share a creative expression of your choosing. We may follow up with questions to check our understanding of what you have shared.
Are there any potential risks or discomforts or benefits?
Because we are discussing child loss, some questions or memories may trigger painful or difficult emotions. However, you do not have to answer any question you find too difficult, and you can ask to take a break or stop the interview entirely at any point without explanation.
Should you feel you need extra support, you have access to professional bereavement support services at any point. You may contact FirstLight’s national 24-hour helpline at 1800 391 391 or submit a self-referral at https://firstlight.ie/referral-form/. You may also call Irish Hospice Foundation’s bereavement support line at 1800 80 70 77, available from 10am to 1pm, Monday to Friday.
There are no direct personal financial benefits or rewards for taking part. However, many participants find value in sharing their personal experiences in a safe space, knowing their insights might help them as well as other bereaved families in the future.
Confidentiality and Data Protection
- Anonymity: Your identity will be fully protected. All names, locations, and identifying details will be removed or changed with pseudonyms in any transcripts, reports, or publications resulting from this study.
- Data Storage: Digital audio files and transcribed text will be stored on secure, password-protected University of Limerick servers in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Physical notes will be kept in a locked filing cabinet within a locked office in the Kemmy Business School.
- Limits to Confidentiality: Confidentiality will only be broken if you disclose immediate risk of serious harm to yourself or others, or information regarding ongoing abuse or statutory concerns that legally require mandatory reporting.
What will happen to the results?
The findings will be analysed as part of academic research papers and presentations. Quotes from your interview may be used anonymously in publications, but participant confidentiality and privacy will be upheld, and no one will ever be able to trace information you share in the interview back to you.
Who has approved this study?
This study has been reviewed and approved by the Kemmy Business School Research Ethics Committee (KBS REC) Application approval number (2026_06_KBS_02) and Dickinson College IRB (#1640).
Complaints Policy
Should you feel dissatisfied with any part of this process or wish to provide feedback, you are invited to do so through ‘Tell Us : You Say, We Listen’’, TUSLA’s feedback & complaints procedure. (https://portal.tusla.ie/feedback)
If you have concerns or complaints about the conduct of this study, you can also contact the University of Limerick KBS Research Ethics Committee via KBSResearchEthics@ul.ie.
Contact Information
If you have any questions, require further information, or wish to withdraw from the study, please contact Forrest at forrest.watson@ul.ie
Dr Forrest Watson, University of Limerick
Prof Deirdre O’Loughlin, University of Limerick
Prof Johanna Gummerus, Hanken School of Economics, Finland
