The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experience of suffering through the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The experiences of 13 individuals who lived suffering through the 2010 earthquake in Haiti were elicited. Heideggerian hermeneutical phenomenology served as both the guiding philosophy and methodology for this research study, while Eriksson’s (1981) theory of caritative caring provided the caring science lens. Diekelmann, Allen, and Tanner’s (1989) seven-stage method of hermeneutical analysis provided the structure for data analysis. The relational themes that were interpreted were: Experiencing the Unimaginable, Awakening to a Changed Reality, Agonizing for Others, Compounding Losses, Finding a Way Forward, and Being Transformed. These six relational themes are illuminated and aesthetically re-presented in six watercolor paintings. The constitutive pattern Suffering With and For Others expressed the meaning of suffering for participants through the 2010 earthquake in Haiti as a lived experience.
Mothers’ Religious Influence on Children Experiencing Trauma: Haiti Community Clinic Focus Groups
An earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale hit Haiti on January 10th, 2010. The earthquake, an urgent crisis, occurred in the context of persistent social dysfunctions, amplifying both the chronic poor living conditions and adversities for children and families. The purpose of the study was to enquire into the possible ways children in Haiti are socialized by the religiousness and other coping ways of their mothers and caretakers in the childhood contexts of societal and continuous trauma.