Coping while caring for the dying child: nurses' experiences in an acute care setting

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Nursing
• Palliative Care
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Caring for dying children presents unique challenges for pediatric nurses.
• Understanding nurses' coping mechanisms is essential for supporting their well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe and understand the behaviors and coping strategies of pediatric nurses caring for dying children in an acute care cardiology setting.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative descriptive study utilizing semistructured focus groups.
• Conventional content analysis was employed for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Key themes identified include: boundaries, memories, disconnecting, and labeling.
• Nurse coping and grieving are significantly influenced by colleague support, institutional resources, and experience level.

Conclusions:

• Colleague and unit resources facilitate effective coping and grieving for nurses.
• Further research is needed on job dissatisfaction, stress, and burnout linked to inadequate grieving processes.