Dying Patient and Family Contributions to Nurse Distress in the ICU

What is it about?

Critical care nurses are responsible for much of the care delivered to patients who die in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), yet little is known about how the experiences of patients and their families relate to the emotional distress of the patient’s nurses. Results of this study suggest that nurses’ emotional distress is significantly associated with their perceptions of psychosocial status of patients and the quality of their death. Family fears and unrealistic expectations for the patient are perceived by nurses to be a major source of their own emotional distress. No particular diagnosis or medical intervention was significantly associated with nurse distress. Improving psychosocial care and the comfort of dying patients and their family caregivers may improve patient and family outcomes as well as the mental health of their nurses.

Featured Image