Supporting Dying, Death, and Bereavement in Critical Care
Author Information
Author(s): Joyce Elsa, Guerin Suzanne, Synman Lindi, Ryberg Melanie
Primary Institution: University College Dublin
Hypothesis
What are the perspectives of critical care staff on dying, death, and bereavement?
Conclusion
Critical care staff face unique challenges in supporting patients and families during the dying process, highlighting the need for better psychological and infrastructural support.
Supporting Evidence
- Staff want to provide a 'nice death' to patients and their families.
- Environmental and organizational barriers hinder staff from providing the care they believe patients deserve.
- Staff experience burnout and moral injury due to the challenges of providing end-of-life care.
- Better bereavement support and training for staff could improve care for families.
Takeaway
This study talks about how hospital staff want to help families and patients have a peaceful goodbye, but they often struggle because of the busy hospital environment.
Methodology
Descriptive exploratory qualitative design using semi-structured interviews and reflexive thematic analysis.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the lead researcher's lack of prior interaction with critical care staff.
Limitations
The sample had an uneven gender split and lacked cultural diversity, which may not reflect the wider critical care staff population in Ireland.
Participant Demographics
Majority female (73.3%), with participants from nursing, anaesthesiology, dietetics, medicine, and physiotherapy.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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