Emotional Challenges in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Nurses' Postmortem Care: A Qualitative Exploration.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Psychology
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) nurses face high-stress situations, including patient death and postmortem care.
• The emotional and psychological impacts on nurses are often overlooked despite physical demands.
• Understanding nurse emotional regulation is crucial for well-being and quality of care.

Purpose of the Study:

• Explore emotional burdens of PICU nurses related to patient death and postmortem care.
• Examine nurses' emotional regulation strategies in response to these experiences.
• Investigate the effects of these emotional responses on professional roles and personal lives.

Main Methods:

• Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 15 experienced PICU nurses.
• Study conducted at Zhejiang Children's Hospital.
• Reflexive thematic analysis of interview data.

Main Results:

• Identified four themes: emotional/physical strain of patient loss, fear in postmortem care, navigating professionalism amid emotional turmoil, and impact on parenting/career.
• Nurses experience significant emotional challenges.
• Emotional burdens affect both professional and personal lives.

Conclusions:

• PICU nurses face substantial emotional challenges from patient death and postmortem care.
• These challenges impact nurses' professional and personal lives.
• Effective emotional support systems and training are needed to enhance nurse well-being and care quality.