Barrett's Power Theory: Re-Conceptualizing the Pediatric Organ Donation Experience With Letter Writing

Pediatric organ donation is often a time of reported turbulence and isolation for both families involved. Communication through letter writing is a way for those families to connect and heal, if they choose to participate. Barrett's Power as Knowing in Participation in Change Theory, with its accompanying health patterning, is applicable to this experience by facilitating awareness, choices, freedom to act intentionally, and involvement in the change process related to the pediatric organ donation process. Two families' experiences connected through organ donation and letter writing, as conceptualized through the lens of Barrett's Power Theory, supported future use of patterning of knowing participation in change for families.