The emergence of spiritual self-care in parents with disabled children

ABSTRACT This qualitative study was conducted to explain the experiences of parents in spiritual self-care. This qualitative study was performed using a conventional content analysis method, based on purposeful sampling with the participation of 17 parents of children who had been diagnosed with a disability for at least one year. Unstructured interviews were used to collect data and data analysis was performed based on five steps of Graneheim and Lundman method. All participants were Muslim and had an average age of 41 years. Data analysis leads to the emergence of 15 subthemes and 4 themes Spiritual turmoil, Manifestation of the spiritual paradigm, Recourse to spiritual behaviour and Spiritual growth and excellence. Parents found that by relying on spirituality they could protect themselves from the problems caused by the child’s disability, they were able to overcome the anxiety and frustration caused by the child’s disability in the shadow of spirituality and adapt to new conditions.