Maybe it is just Hard to let go of the Patient: Nurses’ Attitudes and Experiences of End-of-Life Care in Acute Hospital Wards (original) (raw)
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Palliative Medicine, 2013
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Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2006
Nurses' perceptions of quality end-of-life care on an acute medical ward Aim. This paper reports the findings of a study that generated a conceptual model of the nursing behaviours and social processes inherent in the provision of quality end-of-life care from the perspective of nurses working in an acute care setting.
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Nursing in Critical Care, 2012
Background: A challenge for intensive care nurses is providing the best possible care to patients in an end-of-life stage. The fact that some patients will die despite the efforts of the health care team can affect the psychological state of the nurses and families. Lack of attention to such an issue can bring about unpleasant consequences for both patients and nurses. Aim: Using a qualitative design, the aim is this article explores the experiences of intensive care nurses providing care for end-of-life patients. Methods: The data were collected through in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 10 nurses working at intensive care units (ICUs). Interviews were transcribed and finally analysed through the conventional content analysis. Findings: Two themes emerged out of the experience of providing care to the end-of-life patients. The findings revealed that for Iranian intensive care nurses providing care to such patients was accompanied by emotional burden and values and beliefs.
Pakistan Journal of Medical and Health Sciences
Background: End-of-life care has emerged as an essential component of health care organizations. Now a day, end-of-life care is debated more intensively among patients and their families. Moreover, nurses working in the Intensive Care Unit perform their duties under extreme pressure. A reason for this extreme stress is a shortage of nurses and other healthcare resources. Patients' and family demands at the terminal stage of life further impact nurses’ experiences of end life care. Thus, the current study was conducted with the aim of following objective. Objective: To explore Nurses’ Experiences in End-of-Life Care in an Intensive Care Unit at Tertiary Healthcare Setting, Lahore Methodology: A qualitative descriptive phenomenological research design was adopted to describe Nurses’ Experiences in End-of-Life Care in an Intensive Care Unit at Tertiary Healthcare Setting, Lahore The target population was registered nurses who have been working in intensive care units for more than ...
The Experiences of Critical Care Nurses with Regard to End-Of-Life Issues in the Intensive Care Unit
Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery, 2015
Nurses in the intensive care unit might be faced with emotional conflict, stress and anxiety when dealing with end-of-life issues and thus need to be supported. In understanding the experiences of nurses, enhanced support can be given in order to assist nurses to deal better with end-of life issues in the intensive care unit. The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of nurses’ with regard to end-of-life issues in the intensive care unit. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design using a semi-structured interview approach was used. The target population for the study comprise twenty registered nurses in the intensive care unit. Of the twenty nurses, only nine were willing to participate in the study. Purposive sampling method was used to interview nine nurses in a private intensive care unit. Data collected was thematically analysed, using Tesch’s method. Four major themes were identified, namely: (1) conflicting emotions; (2) ...
Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 2016
Meeting the heath care needs of patients at the end of life is becoming more complex. In Canada, most patients with life-limiting illness will die in hospitals, many on medical units. Yet, few studies have qualitatively investigated end-of-life care (EOLC) in this context, or from the perspectives of nurses providing EOLC. The purpose of this study was to seek to understand the lived experience of nurses on a medical unit providing EOLC to patients. Interpretive phenomenology guided the method and analysis. Individual face-to-face interviews were conducted with 10 nurses from 2 hospital medical units. The underlying essence of these nurses' experiences was that of "battling a tangled web." Battling a tangled web represented their struggles in attempting to provide EOLC in an environment that was not always conducive to it. Seven themes were generated from the analysis: caring in complexity, caught in a tangled web, bearing witness to suffering, weaving a way to get there: struggling through the process, creating comfort for the patient, working through the dying process with the family, and finding a way through the web. The findings contribute to an understanding of the experiences of nurses in providing EOLC on a medical unit including perceived facilitators and barriers.
BMJ supportive & palliative care, 2013
The quality of end-of-life (EOL) care in acute hospitals is variable and interventions to improve this care, such as EOL care pathways, are not always used. The underlying reasons for this variability are not fully understood. We explored healthcare professionals' views on delivering EOL care within an acute hospital trust in the South West of England. We employed qualitative methods (focus groups, in-depth interviews and questerviews) within a study investigating the impact of a simple EOL tool on the care of dying patients. We invited a range of staff of all grades with experience in caring for dying patients from medicine, surgery and care of the elderly teams to participate. Six focus groups, seven interviews and five questerviews were conducted. Two main themes emerged: (a) delays (difficulties and avoidance) in diagnosing dying and (b) the EOL tool supporting staff in caring for the dying. Staff acknowledged that the diagnosis of dying was often made late; this was partly ...
To be involved — A qualitative study of nurses' experiences of caring for dying patients
s u m m a r y Objective: The aim of this study was to describe nurses' experiences (Ntwo years) of caring for dying patients in surgical wards. Background: Palliative care is included in education for nurses. However, the training content varies, and nurse educators need to be committed to the curriculum regarding end-of-life situations. A lack of preparation among newly graduated nurses regarding dying and death could lead to anxiety, stress and burnout. Therefore, it is important to improve knowledge regarding end-of-life situations. Setting, Participants and Method: A qualitative descriptive study was carried out in two surgical wards in the southern part of Sweden. The study comprised six interviews with registered nurses and was analysed using manifest qualitative content analysis, a qualitative method that involves an inductive approach, to increase our understanding of nurses' perspectives and thoughts regarding dying patients. Results: The results formed one category (caring—to be involved) and three subcategories (being supportive, being frustrated and being sensitive in the caring processes). Nurses were personally affected and felt unprepared to face dying patients due to a lack of knowledge about the field of palliative care. Their experiences could be described as processes of transition from theory to practice by trial and error. Conclusion: Supervision is a valuable tool for bridging the gap between theory and practice in nursing during the transition from novice to expert. Improved knowledge about palliative care during nursing education and committed nursing leadership at the ward level facilitate preparation for end-of-life situations.
The limits of suffering: Critical care nurses' views of hospital care at the end of life
Social Science & Medicine, 1997
A~tract--This study explores critical care nurses' beliefs, motivations, and experiences regarding end of life care. We performed a content analysis of the text comments provided by 468 U.S. critical care nurses in response to an anonymous mail survey about euthanasia. These comments reveal that these U.S. critical care nurses' feelings about issues surrounding the end of life are extremely complex. Eight themes emerged from 37 coded concepts, and the median number of themes volunteered per nurse was three. Among the most prevalent themes were patient concerns (53%), family concerns (33%), clinical circumstances (42%), the nurses' personal concerns (38%), and external or structural issues (68%). A profound sense of compassion and often conflicting forces were noted within and across themes. The nurses' comments offer a unique perspective on the care of critically ill patients and reveal much about that care that should be improved. In particular, (1) some nurses are frustrated about their limited role in the management of patients at the end of life, given their special understanding of these patients' experiences and wishes; (2) considerable confusion remains about the most appropriate way to care for these patients; and (3) the environment of some critical care settings may be unable to foster the compassion that many patients need.