3.1.2. Blame from health professionals
Although blame from family members was exceedingly
difficult for parents, blame from HPs was more devastating
as parents had expectations that the professionals would
be caring. Rather, they encountered HPs who were
insensitive to their feelings and emotions. Parents were
blamed for the burn event itself, for not seeking treatment
on time and at the right place, or for not adhering to
treatment protocols at home and not coming for regular
follow-up. The blame from HPs was more likely to be
directed at both parents than one parent. Questions such
as, ‘‘How did you pour water on your child?’’ and repeated
accusations of ‘‘You have done this to the child’’ (Mother
F4) were heard by most of the parents when they took their
children to the hospital. Other questions such as ‘‘Don’t you
know to look after well? Don’t you have the knowledge
(skill) to look after?’’ (Mother F7) raised doubt about the
mothers’ and fathers’ parenting abilities. Some parents
recounted feeling that the HPs were suggesting that the
child might have been burned intentionally. ‘‘The nurses
will blame as if we have done this on purpose. . . you have
done like this for a child who was well.’’ (Father F7)
Although all parents in this study sought professional
help as soon as the burn injury happened, they were
sometimes blamed for not taking their child to the
appropriate specialized facility soon enough. When
parents in Family Six took their burn-injured son, who
was treated initially by a local practitioner, to the
specialized city hospital they experienced ridicule from
the physician