[Nurses' perception, experience and knowledge of palliative care in intensive care units]

Competencies of the nurses in the limitation of therapeutic effort in the intensive care unit: An integrative review

Objective

Nurses inevitably encounter patients who require care aimed at limiting therapeutic effort (LTE), even though many of them are not prepared to provide support to individuals with terminal illnesses and their families. One of the contexts in which the LTE is considered is the intensive care unit (ICU). This review is to describe the competencies for the execution of a nursing professional role in the LTE in the ICU.

Method

An integrative review of the literature published between the years 2010 and 2023. The search was carried out in five databases: Medline, Wiley Online Library, SciELO, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme in Spanish was used as the template for study evaluation. The methodology of the Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) was used to assess the level of evidence and the degree of recommendation.

Result

A total of 25 articles in a wide range of studies were included. The findings suggest that the competencies for LTE in the ICU are direct patient care, family-centered care, and the role of the nurse within the team. However, more high-quality studies are needed to confirm these conclusions. Three categories were identified: (a) competencies as defender agent between the patient, his family, and the interdisciplinary team; (b) competencies for decision-making in limiting the therapeutic effort; and (c) competencies for nursing therapeutic interventions at the end of life.

Conclusion

The competencies of the nursing professionals who work in the adult ICU in the LTE are essential to the patient's quality of life, dignity of their death, and comprehensive family support for coping with grief.

Nurses' knowledge about palliative care in a critical care unit

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE

Patients admitted to the Critical Care Unit (CCU) have a high mortality rate due to their complexity. Palliative care (PC) is a key aspect that can improve patient care. Because of the essential role of the nurse in providing this care, training, and including it in daily practice are needed. Our objective was to review the level of knowledge among the nurses in the CCU regarding PC and assess whether there is an association between each of the study variables.

METHODOLOGY

We performed a descriptive observational cross-sectional study in the CCU of a tertiary level university hospital. The questionnaire Palliative Care Quiz for Nurses, previously validated and translated into Spanish, was used. This is a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 20 multiple-choice questions (True/False/Do not know-Do not answer) which evaluates three aspects of PC: philosophy, psychosocial and control of pain and other symptoms. In addition, sociodemographic data was collected. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used, a p < .05 was considered statistically significant in all cases.

RESULTS

The questionnaire was administered to 68 nursers, with an average age of 34.98 ± 12.12 years, and 13.00 ± 11.75 years of professional experience. Twelve nurses have Master studies and 28 nurses have received training in PC. The percent of correct answers of the questionnaire was 56.98%. There were no statistically significant differences between the total average score and the variables studied. However, looking at each aspect on the scale, an association was found between PC training and control of pain and other symptoms (p = .033).

CONCLUSION

Critical care nurses have a basic knowledge of PC, it being insufficient in the psychological sphere. Developing a training programme which identifies misconceptions and training deficits might improve the management of symptom control in palliative care patients, quality of care and its application.

Attitudes of health science students towards death in Spain

BACKGROUND

Health science students in Spain should be trained to manage the process of death and dying.

AIM

To compare the perceptions, attitudes and fears of death from a sample of these students.

METHODS

This descriptive, cross-sectional and multi-centre study comprised 411 students studying degrees in medicine, nursing and physiotherapy. The variables used were the hospice-related death self-efficacy scale by Robbins and the Collet-Lester fear of death scale.

FINDINGS

The total score obtained on the death self-efficacy scale was 74.43/110, which is considered moderate to high self-efficacy for facing death. Facing the death of a friend at a young age obtained the lowest score (3.85±2.809). Regarding the Collet-Lester scale, the lowest score was 'fear of one's own death' (3.58±0.983) with a value of p=0.81.

CONCLUSION

The health science students who participated in this study displayed high levels of fear and anxiety towards death.

Health Care at the End of Life: Experience of Nurses at the Adult Intensive Care Unit

The objective of this study was to determine the experience of the nurses who provide health care in the final stages of life in the intensive care unit for adults. The authors report the results of their study, which used a qualitative design with a phenomenological approach. Eighteen adults participated by being interviewed using semistructured questions. The nurses expressed that health care at the end of life represents an emotional and psychological burden for them. They also recognized that health care was given based on the empiricism achieved through clinical experience. In this regard, they emphasize the importance of having the proper education in this area to provide comprehensive care to the patient, the family, and the nurse.

Afrontamiento de docentes de enfermería ante la muerte del paciente en unidades de cuidado crítico

Introducción. La muerte es un fenómeno que preocupa a la humanidad, por tanto, es objeto de cuidado por enfermería como parte de las competencias inherentes a la disciplina. Objetivo. Describir el nivel de afrontamiento de las enfermeras frente a la muerte de pacientes en unidades de cuidado crítico. Método. Estudio piloto observacional, de tipo descriptivo transversal, con método de muestreo probabilístico, teniendo en cuenta el número de enfermeras que se desempañaban como docentes de enfermería en el área de cuidado crítico de cuatro universidades de Pereira y Manizales (n = 30). Se aplicó encuesta autoadministrada, elaborada por las investigadoras, con datos sociodemográficos, curriculares y del perfil docente. Para evaluar el nivel de afrontamiento, se utilizó la escala de Bugen de afrontamiento de la muerte, validada al castellano. Resultados. El 100% de docentes de enfermería tuvo una experiencia cercana a la muerte con algún ser querido, y el 73.3% no había tenido ninguna preparación como enfermera acerca de la muerte, lo que se puso de manifiesto según la escala de Bugen, donde el 36.8% (n = 11) de la población puntuó por debajo del percentil 33, el 33.4% (n = 10) de la población por encima del percentil 66, y el 29.9% (n = 9) puntuó en la zona intermedia. Conclusión. Las enfermeras necesitan mejorar su nivel de afrontamiento ante la muerte, mediante una formación sólida en cuidados integrales al final de la vida y el buen morir, para lograr competencias específicas que puedan ser enseñadas en los actos docentes de manera consciente.

Difficulties Perceived by ICU Nurses Providing End-of-Life Care: A Qualitative Study

Background

With advances in medicine and technology, intensive care units (ICUs) have the capacity to treat patients who would have previously not been expected to survive and would therefore not have been managed in ICUs. When an individual is not expected to survive, doctors and nurses face the modern ethical dilemma of death associated with withdrawal of life-supporting strategies. The aim of this study was to identify difficulties perceived by ICU nurses providing end-of-life care (EOLC) in Poland.

Methods

The qualitative study was designed to investigate the difficulties, and the related barriers, to EOLC provided in ICUs in Poland. We conducted individual telephone interviews with ICU nurses from across Poland.

Results

The main issues raised during the interviews included (1) barriers attributable to the hospital, (2) barriers related to the patient's family, and (3) barriers related to the ICU personnel providing direct EOLC. The interviewed nurses considered the lack of support from managers to be the main barrier. We found that ICU nurses in Poland dealt with end-of-life aspects that were emotionally and psychologically taxing. In addition, they lacked specialized training in this area, especially with regard to family care and care provision.

Conclusions

A pressing need exists to improve facilities and make equipment ensuring a desirable standard of care more available. Specialized palliative care training programs should be incorporated into compulsory nursing curricula for ICU nurses.

CUIDADOS PALIATIVOS AO IDOSO NA TERAPIA INTENSIVA: OLHAR DA EQUIPE DE ENFERMAGEM

RESUMO Objetivo: conhecer o significado de cuidados paliativos ao idoso para a equipe de enfermagem e identificar como ocorrem as interações da família com o idoso na unidade de terapia intensiva. Método: pesquisa descritiva, realizada unidade de terapia intensiva de hospital público em Fortaleza-Ceará-Brasil. Amostra composta por 58 profissionais da equipe de enfermagem. Fez-se a coleta de dados no segundo semestre de 2015 por meio de entrevista semiestruturada e gravada. Resultados: os resultados apontaram três categorias temáticas: cuidados paliativos, com destaque para alívioda dor e do sofrimento; interação familiar e pessoa idosa, sobressaindo comunicação como mais importante; e ambiente imprópriopara cuidados paliativos, com ênfase em orientação para o cuidado. Conclusão: conforme o estudo mostrou, a equipe tem conhecimento sobre cuidados paliativos e reconhece a família como elo entre profissional e idoso. Considera-se, ainda, que a terapia intensiva não é um ambiente apropriado para cuidados paliativos.