“I want my son to die before I do”: A phenomenological study on the views of mothers with disabled children about death after the 6 February 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye

Abstract

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the experiences of mothers with disabled children directly affected by the 6 February 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye regarding the concept of death in the context of social representations. The interpretive phenomenological analysis method, which is a qualitative research method, was used in the study. The content of semi-structured interviews held with 23 mothers was analyzed according to the analysis guidelines of Smith and Osborn. As a result of the analyses, four themes representing the views of the participants on the concept of death, which were “the perception of death, individual factors affecting the perception of death, environmental factors affecting the perception of death, and methods of coping with death anxiety,” as well as fifteen categories under these themes, were revealed. The results of this study present the experiences and needs of mothers with disabled children after the aforementioned earthquakes, their needs in this process, their views about death, and their coping resources within a cultural framework. According to the results, the existing needs and death anxiety of mothers with disabled children have become more prominent after the earthquakes.