Nurses’ Experiences of Grief Following Patient Death: A Qualitative Approach

Khalaf, Inaam; Al-Dweik, Ghadeer; Abu-Snieneh, Hana Mohammad; Al-Daken, Laila; Musallam, Ruba; BaniYounis, Mohammad; Al-Rimawi, Rula; Khatib, Atef Hassan; Allah, Abla Habeeb; Atoum, Maysoun; Masadeh, Arwa

doi:10.1177/0898010117720341

Cited by 41 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…According to scientists from Jordan, the feelings that are provoked by the death of a patient are most often sadness and sorrow. Additionally, religion and spirituality are very important while dealing with emotions, 23 which is also confirmed by Makowicz et al 22 and MacDermott and Keenan. 24 According to the author of this study, some persons chose religion as a stress-coping strategy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…Additionally, it can be noticed that the resistance to stress comes with experience. 23 Lien et al 32 also show that seniority is a crucial factor in choosing the strategies and methods of coping with patients' death. Experience in hospice care is an important predictor of the life attitude of the nurses employed in the intensive care unit and it influences self-efficacy in response to death.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Feelings and Emotions of Nurses Related to Dying and Death of Patients – A Pilot Study

Kostka¹,

Borodzicz²,

Krzemińska³

2021

PRBM

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Introduction The aim of the study, conducted in selected inpatient units, was to evaluate and analyse the feelings and emotions which accompany nurses during their work when they face the death of patients. Material and Methods A total of 160 nurses were invited to participate in the study. The study group consisted of 40 nurses from each of the four departments of a municipal hospital: a surgery unit, an internal medicine unit, a hospital emergency department (ER) and an intensive care unit (ICU). A diagnostic survey method was used, including a questionnaire on sociodemographic data as well as questions designed by the author of the research related to the feelings of nurses provoked by the death of patients. To assess the level of anxiety and the ways of coping with stress related to contact with dying patients, Mini-COPE and PSS-10 questionnaires were used. Results Compassion, sadness and helplessness are the most common types of nurses’ emotions caused by the death of patients, regardless of the nurses’ length of service and the place of work. In the study group, 53.90% of participants experienced a high level of stress. The level of anxiety in nurses from the internal medicine ward was significantly higher than in the nurses from the intensive care unit and the emergency department. The way of coping with stress is related to the period of service and the workplace of nurses. Conclusion Nurses experience a high level of stress and strong emotions triggered by the observation of dying patients. Various styles of coping with stress can be noticed depending on job seniority and a place of employment. Due to the emotions evoked by the necessity to deal with death while performing professional duties, it is advisable to develop effective ways of coping in difficult situations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feelings and Emotions of Nurses Related to Dying and Death of Patients – A Pilot Study

Kostka¹,

Borodzicz²,

Krzemińska³

2021

PRBM

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“…McCallin (2011McCallin ( , p. 2331 found that nurses caring for patients at the end of life went beyond the "efficiency-effectiveness rhetoric to engage in meaningful 'being with' relationships" with patients, thereby emphasizing moral responsibilities in the patient-provider relationship. Staff who engage with residents in NHs therefore likely to experience suffering, loss, grief, and bereavement when the residents die (Boerner et al, 2015;Cagle et al, 2017;Khalaf et al, 2018;Marcella & Kelley, 2015;Simard, 2020). Van Riesenbeck et al (2015) found that a resident's death may be perceived by care providers as akin to the loss of a loved one and that they may feel emotionally unprepared for it.…”

Section: Background and Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

“They Stay With You”: Nursing Home Staff's Emotional Experiences of Being in a Close Relationship With a Resident in Long-Term Care who Died

et al. 2021

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Aim: To explore and develop understanding of nursing home staff's emotional experiences of being in a close relationship with a resident in long-term care who later died. Design: Ethnographic fieldwork. Methods: As part of fieldwork, narrative interviews were conducted with nursing home staff ( n = 6) in two nursing homes in Norway and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings: Through data analysis, we identified three superordinate themes: (1) wanting to be something good for the resident and their families, (2) striving to make sense of the resident's death, and (3) struggling to balance being personal and professional. Implications for holistic nursing and conclusion: Nursing home staff experience tensions between ideals of distanced professionalism and the emotional experience of proximity, evidenced by personal commitment and mutual recognition in relationships with “special residents” in long-term care. To support holistic practice, awareness is needed of the emotional impact of relationships on health professionals. Suppressing feelings puts staff at risk of moral distress, compassion fatigue, and burnout, as well as higher turnover and absenteeism. Managers should facilitate discussions on professionals’ ideals of relationship-based practice, including processing of, and reflection on, emotional experiences in long-term care. Rituals to mark a resident's death can provide further emotional containment.

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“…The results showed that limited experience and knowledge tend to make them helpless, whereas the majority of them try their level best to focus on positives after the death of a child in their care. The grief experiences by nurses have not been addressed within the practice setting; therefore, it is necessary to show that nurses respond emotionally to patients' death and experience grief (Khalaf et al, 2017). The experiences of grief among the nurses about emotional labor and death of the patient (child) are part of their work that affects their personal as well as professional lives (Granek et al, 2015).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experience of nurses who work with children with palliative care needs: A mixed-method systematic review

Atout

2019

Pall Supp Care

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Objective The importance of palliative care education for nurses has been recognized worldwide. The study aims to explore the experiences of nurses working with children with palliative care needs and to identify any related educational needs. Methods The electronic databases of CINAHL, Cochrane, PubMed, OVID, Social Care Online, Web of Science, Scopus, and ProQuest were searched for the period 2000–2015. Results Finding revealed that working with children with palliative care needs is an emotionally struggling job for nurses, especially when they try to manage the transition of pediatric patients from curative to palliative care. Staffing level and time constraints comprise a major obstacle in pediatric palliative care. Focusing on invasive treatment and technology in spite of the feelings that it will not improve patients' health status intensifies the feeling of guilt and helplessness for nurses. Finally, nurses asserted the importance of receiving pediatric palliative care education, especially how to communicate with children with palliative care needs and their families. Significance of results Further research is recommended with regard to nurses' experience in communication with children with palliative care needs. Nursing education in pediatric palliative care is significantly important, especially how to communicate with children with palliative care needs and their families.

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Nurses’ Experiences of Grief Following Patient Death: A Qualitative Approach

Cited by 41 publications

References 44 publications

Feelings and Emotions of Nurses Related to Dying and Death of Patients – A Pilot Study

Feelings and Emotions of Nurses Related to Dying and Death of Patients – A Pilot Study

“They Stay With You”: Nursing Home Staff's Emotional Experiences of Being in a Close Relationship With a Resident in Long-Term Care who Died

Experience of nurses who work with children with palliative care needs: A mixed-method systematic review

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