Establishing a bereavement program: caring for bereaved families and staff in the emergency department

LeBrocq, Patricia; Charles, Amanda; Chan, Thomas; Buchanan, Mary

doi:10.1016/s0965-2302(02)00210-2

Cited by 31 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The experiences and impact of death on other professional care-givers has been well documented over the years, particularly in nursing fields such as Paediatrics (Stack, 2003), Emergency Care (Briysiewicsz & Uys, 2006: LeBrocq, Charles, Chan, & Buchanan, 2003, Palliative Care (Llamas, Llamas, Pickhaver, & Piller, 2001;Newton & Waters, 2001), Intensive-Care (Lenart, Bauer, Brighton, Johnson, & Stringer, 1998;Pearson, Robertson-Malt, Walsh, & Fitzgerald, 2001) and long-term care settings (Katz, Sidell, & Komaromy, 2001;Rickerson, Somers, Allen, Lewis, Strumpf, & Casarett, 2005;). Doctors have also been researched in terms of how they react to the death of a patient (Redinbaugh, Sullivan, Block, Gadmer, Lakoma, Mitchell, et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of drug-related death on staff who have experienced it as part of their caseload: An exploratory study

McAuley

Forsyth

2010

Journal of Substance Use

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Previous research into drug-related death (DRD) has targeted specific groups such as the deceased themselves, witnesses, or families of victims. There has been no research on staff working in the substance misuse field and the impact that DRD has had on them. Method: A postal questionnaire survey was conducted across a Scottish health authority area and quantitatively measured the impact that this event had on the work, health, and social life. Results: Sixty-five staff persons were identified as having experiencing at least one DRD on their caseload. These 65 reported a range of grief-related reactions, with the majority (88%) identifying at least one reaction. The most common feelings identified were sadness (83%), guilt (40%), and anger (37%) about the death of their client. Female staff, those with access to more sources of support, those who had a larger caseload, those with greater career experience of DRD on their caseload, and those who felt close to their client all reported significantly greater prevalence of grief-related reactions. The length of time since the DRD had occurred was also associated. Conclusions: When a DRD occurs, staff involved in the care and treatment of the deceased need to be considered in the aftermath.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of drug-related death on staff who have experienced it as part of their caseload: An exploratory study

McAuley

Forsyth

2010

Journal of Substance Use

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Focusing on the needs of the family carries greater significance than debating the scientific evidence of medical decisions. Numerous authors have offered communication techniques that may be effective, among them spending adequate time with the family, communicating in a private, quiet location, using active listening techniques and appropriate and understandable language, discussing options available to the family, allowing unrestricted visits, and providing ancillary support resources, such as nursing, pastoral care and social services [34][35][36][37].…”

Section: Case Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An ER Decision To Withhold CPR

Marco

Schears²

2007

AMA Journal of Ethics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mr. Gold had been complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath, so his family insisted that he go to the ER. As they were driving him over, Mr. Gold became unconscious and remained so until the family reached the hospital-nearly four minutes. Dr. McDonald and his team met the family at the door, placed Mr. Gold on a gurney and rushed him into the ER. As they wheeled Mr. Gold through, his wife demanded that a physician perform CPR to save her husband's life. The couple's two teenage children tried to comfort their mother by telling her their dad was going to be all right, based on what they had seen on hospital television shows about CPR and its promising success rate.Once in the exam room Dr. McDonald glanced at the patient notes. He learned that Mr. Gold was in his early fifties and in generally good physical condition. Unfortunately Mr. Gold had lost alertness and slipped into a coma on his way to the hospital; his skin was pale and he was severely hypotensive. Dr. McDonald quickly determined that the patient was in progressive cardiogenic shock and was going to die. He knew the family expected CPR, but based on his diagnosis and expertise Dr. McDonald decided that CPR would be futile and did not attempt resuscitation.Aware that he had to present difficult news to the family, Dr. McDonald knew that he would be confronted about his decision not to attempt resuscitation. Mr. Gold was a relatively young man, in good shape and with a loving family. Given those circumstances, Dr. McDonald figured the family would think he had given up on their husband and father prematurely. He began to second-guess his decision, thinking that, had he tried, he could at least have brought some comfort to the family.Once alone with the family, Dr. McDonald tried to avoid the topic of CPR. He told the family, "We did the best we could, but he did not make it." The family, clearly heartbroken, asked, "We've seen CPR work before, why didn't it work this time?" Dr. McDonald had to decide what and how much to tell the family. He knew that explaining the true nature of CPR would be a lengthy conversation, and with the news of the sudden death of a loved one so fresh, it would probably provide no true relief. CommentaryVariations of this case are commonly seen in Emergency Departments (EDs). Patients, families and friends often have unrealistic expectations of resuscitative

show abstract

“…Elle devrait notamment pouvoir l'accompagner pour aller voir le corps si elle le désire (sinon il faut toujours respecter la décision de la famille, surtout si elle ne veut pas voir le corps) [2]. Si elle le souhaite, on peut laisser la famille participer aux soins de la défunte [3] en portant attention aux rites particuliers à respecter en fonction des religions, croyances ou autres [6,8] documents nécessaires pour les funérailles [6,9], associations qui s'occupent du deuil (livrets explicatifs concernant les démarches, le processus de deuil. .…”

Section: Comment Annoncer Le Décès à La Famille ?unclassified