Death and Dying in the Emergency Department: A New Model for End-of-Life Care

Death and dying remain taboo subjects in society today and therefore people may come to the end of their life without having thought about what death and dying might be like and what it is to have a good death. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the experience of death and dying in a hospital emergency department. Culturally, some individuals are unprepared for death, and when death occurs in an emergency setting it can be particularly shocking.

A phenomenological study was undertaken, based on the existential phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty; and framed by the nurse theorist Hildegard Peplau. Bereaved relatives and registered nurses gave in-depth interviews describing their experiences and the interviews were analysed using an adaptation of the work of Thomas and Pollio (2002) and Hycner (1985), consistent with Merleau-Ponty's theories.

The study brings new understanding of what it is like to die in an emergency setting through new understanding of what the accompanying relatives/friends of the deceased person experience, aided by new understanding of the experiences of emergency nurses.

A nursing model based both on the work of Peplau (Parse et al. 2000) and on the work of the nurse theorists Ruland and Moore (1998) and Zaccara et al. (2017) was devised for use in the emergency department when death occurs. It is hoped that this model will help nurses improve the care given to this group of patients and their loved ones.