Reflection Activity After Patient Death to Reduce Anxiety in Intensive Care Nurses

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Psychology
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses face high anxiety and burnout due to complex patient cases and mortality.
• This emotional toll contributes to job dissatisfaction and increased staff turnover in critical care settings.
• Addressing nurse anxiety is crucial for maintaining a stable and effective healthcare workforce.

Purpose of the Study:

• To decrease anxiety surrounding patient death among medical ICU nurses.
• To implement and evaluate an evidence-based post-death reflection activity, "The Pause."

Main Methods:

• Unit leaders trained in "The Pause" intervention.
• Nurses anonymously completed pre- and post-intervention surveys using the revised Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale.
• Quantitative data analyzed using descriptive statistics and effect size measures.

Main Results:

• A 15% reduction in the mean total score on the Fear of Death Scale was observed post-intervention.
• The intervention demonstrated a moderate effect size (Cohen d = 0.53), indicating reduced death-related anxiety.
• Participating nurses reported lower overall anxiety regarding patient mortality.

Conclusions:

• The Pause intervention effectively decreased anxiety among bedside nurses in the ICU.
• The activity is low-cost and requires minimal staff workload.
• Continuation and broader implementation of "The Pause" are recommended for sustained positive outcomes.