'Just knowing' and the challenges of giving medicines to children with severe and profound intellectual disabilities: A hermeneutic inquiry

Accessible summary I asked mothers to speak to me about their experience of giving medicines to their child with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. Mothers told me their instincts often tell them how their child is and they also talked about the challenges in giving medicines every day. The findings from this study show how important it is that professionals understand how difficult it can be. It is essential that we support mothers to "give medicines." Background Children with severe and profound intellectual disabilities experience multiple chronic health conditions requiring a variety of medications. The aim of this study was to explore mothers' lived experience of giving medicines to children with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. Materials and Methods A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was adopted with a purposeful sample of 15 mothers adopted. Face-to-face interviews and participant diaries were utilised for data collection. Results Themes were identified with one being that of "lived body" exploring how mothers "just know" or use their instincts and also the challenges they encountered in daily life when giving medicines. Conclusions This paper provides insight into the complexity of giving medicines to children with severe and profound intellectual disabilities and the level of support required by mothers.