Improving the support of the suddenly bereaved

Emergency nurses' experiences of caring for brought-in-dead persons and their relatives-a qualitative study

AIM

To explore how emergency nurses experienced caring for brought-in-dead persons and their relatives, and what hindered or facilitated this care in an emergency setting.

DESIGN

A qualitative study using Interpretive Description.

METHODS

Data were collected as individual interviews with 13 nurses at seven Danish emergency departments from February to June 2023.

FINDINGS

Our analysis revealed the overarching theme 'Navigating the complexities of providing holistic care in a constrained environment', covering five sub-themes: (1) An important yet not recognized nursing task; (2) Pending care needs of the living and the dead; (3) No physical or mental room for the brought-in-dead persons; (4) Utilizing personal experiences in the absence of formal education and training and (5) Navigating professionalism and empathy.

CONCLUSION

Emergency departments posed unique challenges in providing care to brought-in-dead persons and their relatives.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION

The unrecognized nature of caring for brought-in-dead persons and their relatives suggests a universal undervaluation of this care in emergency departments.

IMPACT

Care for brought-in-dead persons and their relatives is neither recognized nor evidence-based. This study initiates a discussion of the circumstances for delivering care for persons brought-in-dead and has an impact on nurses and nursing leaders employed in emergency departments.

REPORTING METHOD

The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ).

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

None.

A qualitative study of the experiences of relatives to brought in dead persons in an emergency department

AIMS

The aim was to explore the experiences of relatives seeing and saying goodbye to brought in dead persons in a Danish emergency department.

DESIGN

This was a qualitative study based on interpretive description methodology.

METHODS

Data were collected through semi-structured individual interviews with relatives (n = 11) of brought in dead persons and 30 h of participatory observations of these relatives visiting the emergency department to see and say goodbye to the deceased. Data were collected between February 2019 and December 2020.

RESULTS

Our analyses revealed internal and external chaos as an overarching theme, covering 4 themes and 10 subthemes. The four themes were traumatic events, restricted access, briefly being together again, and final goodbyes and departures.

CONCLUSION

Emergency departments were highly acute and busy settings that prioritized survival more than the care of deceased people and their relatives. The relatives were, in every way, affected by internal and external chaos; the external chaos in the emergency department reinforced the feeling of internal chaos. It is necessary for managers and nurses in emergency departments to organize and practice care for relatives, whilst bringing in deceased individuals in a less chaotic and more caring manner.

IMPACT

This study contributes to the knowledge of relatives' experiences regarding brought in dead persons, underpinning the need to care for this subpopulation in emergency departments. Care for relatives of brought in dead individuals has the potential to relieve suffering and prevent diseases, which are core elements of nursing.

Children or adolescents who lost someone close during the Southeast Asia tsunami 2004 - The life as young

INTRODUCTION

To lose a person close suddenly, during childhood or adolescence, can be devastating. Many children or adolescents experienced the 2004 Indonesian tsunami when they were between 10- and 15-years-old. This study, from Stockholm, Sweden, describes the long-term effects of loss, eight- or nine-years post disaster, in young adulthood.

METHOD

A mixed-method approach was used including statistical analyses (n = 210) and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).

RESULTS

It was shown that there was a significant difference between bereaved (n = 34) and nonbereaved (n = 176) respondents concerning, psychological distress, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and self-rated health. Three themes were found by using the IPA approach (n = 9): Living in traumas, carrying heavy baggage, and living with change.

CONCLUSION

The respondents described personal feelings of grief that are not expressed in their outward appearance or behavior in their daily living. When meeting young adults that have lost someone close in childhood or adolescence, this is important to have in mind.

Impact of death education courses on emergency nurses' perception of effective behavioral responses in dealing with sudden death in China: A quasi-experimental study

BACKGROUND

Nurses in emergency departments have to provide rescue care and life support for moribund patients, but also emotional support to patients' relatives. On the other hand, emergency nurses are also the most vulnerable to the sudden death of patients. Nurses working in the emergency department were invited to participate in a death education course.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the impact of a death education course on the emergency nurses' perception of effective behavioral responses in dealing with sudden death.

DESIGN

A quasi-experimental study.

SETTINGS

A level A tertiary general hospital in China.

PARTICIPANTS

A total number of 34 emergency nurses who met the inclusion criteria were randomly selected from the emergency department.

METHODS

Participants received a death education course of 20 credit hours based on dealing with a sudden-death model. The general data questionnaire and the Chinese version of the list proposed by Fraser & Atkins were completed before the intervention and six weeks post-intervention. The scores of each item in the effective behavioral response to the sudden death questionnaire of the emergency nurses before and after the intervention were compared.

RESULTS

After the intervention, the nurses considered that 10 items were relatively helpful (above 4 points) and 2 items relatively less helpful (<3 points). The post-intervention average scores of all items were higher than the pre-intervention ones, and there were significant differences in the scores of the 13 items pre- and post-intervention.

CONCLUSION

The death education course enhanced emergency nurses' perceptions of effective behavioral responses in dealing with sudden death, which contributes to the improvement of the quality of their work.