Intensive & critical care nursing : the official journal of the British Association of Critical Care Nurses
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Apr 2016
Multicenter Study'Something normal in a very, very abnormal environment'--Nursing work to honour the life of dying infants and children in neonatal and paediatric intensive care in Australia.
The majority of deaths of children and infants occur in paediatric and neonatal intensive care settings. For nurses, managing an infant/child's deterioration and death can be very challenging. Nurses play a vital role in how the death occurs, how families are supported leading up to and after the infant/child's death. ⋯ Four themes emerged from thematic analysis: (1) respecting the child as a person; (2) creating opportunities for family involvement/connection; (3) collecting mementos; and (4) planning for death. Many of the activities described in this study empowered parents to participate in the care of their child as death approached. Further work is required to ensure these principles are translated into practice.
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Apr 2016
Multicenter StudyIntensive care nurses' experiences of end-of-life care.
To explore intensive care nurses' experiences of end-of-life care in adult intensive care units. ⋯ End-of-life care can be difficult and a challenging process. Nevertheless, this study has highlighted some of the interventions and support systems that could be incorporated for improved caring process. Whereas the dying patients and their families need to be continuously supported, critical care nurses too need to be taken care of for them to continue providing the best possible end-of-life care.