How nurses cope with death in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit

The death of a child in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is difficult, the loss generates feelings of sadness and pain; this study highlights the different coping strategies used by nurses to manage this situation and find the strength to provide care at the end of life.

Explore the strategies used by nurses in the PICU in coping with death.

Study conducted in the city of Manizales, Colombia, during the months of October, November and December. A qualitative, hermeneutical phenomenological approach was used. The method of intentional sampling for the selection of participating nurses (n=10) working in PICU, in-depth interviews were conducted for the construction of the information and the data were analyzed according to the procedures proposed by Cohen, Kahn and Steeves.

Nurses use coping strategies focused on emotions: they inhibit their feelings towards the patient and their family; they use communication and prayer with the patient, as well as accompaniment to alleviate the suffering of the family.

UCIP nurses develop coping strategies for end-of-life care using spiritual resources and communication with the family who require ongoing support, reflecting on death and accompanying the child in its transcendence.