This study describes the psychological effects of an experience of death education (DE) used to explore a case of suicide in an Italian high school. DE activities included philosophical and religious perspectives of the relationships between death and the meaning of life, a visit to a local hospice, and psychodrama activities, which culminated in the production of short movies. The intervention involved 268 high school students (138 in the experimental group). Pre-test and post-test measures assessed ontological representations of death, death anxiety, alexithymia, and meaning in life. Results confirmed that, in the experimental group, death anxiety was significantly reduced as much as the representation of death as annihilation and alexithymia, while a sense of spirituality and the meaning of life were more enhanced, compared to the No DE group. These improvements in the positive meaning of life and the reduction of anxiety confirmed that it is possible to manage trauma and grief at school with death education interventions that include religious discussion, psychodrama and movie making activities.
The research offers an insight into the staff's perceptions of using intentional rounding and also explains the practical difficulties faced by the nursing staff with potential suggestions that may help to address these problems. Benefits include more open communication between staff and patients and potentially more timely response to patient need, which positively impacts levels of safety and satisfaction. Barriers include lack of staff engagement, and the environmental factors and pressures, within the ED setting.
Aims
This study aims to apply Hochschild's theory of emotional labour to emergency care, and uncover the ‘specialty‐specific’ feeling rules driving this labour. Despite the importance of positive nurse well‐being, the emotional labour of nursing (a great influencer in wellbeing) remains neglected.
Design and Methods
Ethnography enabled immersion in the ED setting, gathering the lived experiences and narratives of the ED nursing team. We undertook first‐hand observations at one major trauma centre ED and one district general ED including semi‐structured interviews (18). A reflexive and interpretive approach towards thematic analysis was used.
Results
We unearthed and conceptualized four feeling rules born from this context and offer extensive insights into the emotional labour of emergency nurses.
Conclusion
Understanding the emotional labour and feeling rules of various nursing specialties offers critical insight into the challenges facing staff ‐ fundamental for nursing well‐being and associated retention programs.
Impact
What problem did the study address?
What were the main findings?
Where and on whom will the research have impact?
Academically, this research expands our understanding ‐ we know little of nurses’ feeling rules and how specialties influence them. Clinically, (including service managers and policy makers) there are practical implications for nurse well‐being.
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