Spiritual Needs Of Families With Bereavement And Loss Of An Infant In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Qualitative Study
End Of Life Care; Clinical Neurology; Palliative Care; Medicine General & Internal; Health Care Sciences & Services; Providers
Iran; Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; Spiritual Needs; End Of Life; Family; Infants
CONTEXT:
The hospital is a place full of distress and questions about the meaning of life. The death of a child can cause a spiritual struggle and crisis. Therefore, it is necessary for health care providers in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to assess the spiritual needs of families that have lost a child.
OBJECTIVES:
The purpose of this study was to explore the spiritual needs of families in Iran at the end of their baby's life and through bereavement in the NICU.
METHODS:
This study was an exploratory qualitative study performed using purposeful sampling and semi-structured interviews with 24 participants. Inclusion criteria for families, nurses, and physicians included having experienced at least one newborn death in the last six months in the NICU. The research environment was the NICU in Isfahan, one of the largest cities in Iran.
RESULTS:
Data analysis revealed three main themes: spiritual belief in a supernatural power, the need for comfort of the soul, and human dignity for the newborn.
CONCLUSION:
The results of this study created a new vision in addressing spiritual needs of Iranian families who experience the death of a newborn.
N Sadeghi; Hasanpour M; Heidarzadeh M; Alamolhoda A; Waldman E
Journal Of Pain And Symptom Management
2016
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
Information And Communication Needs Of Parents In Infant End-of-life: A Qualitative Study
Access To Information; Bereavement; End-of-life Care; Infant Mortality; Intensive Care Units; Neonatal
Background: Hospitalization of a neonate in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can be a stressful event for parents. They need specific information and communication to alleviate their stress, but these parental needs are not met by NICU staff. Exploration of these needs can help health professionals to provide better healthcare services.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the information and communication needs of families in neonatal end-of-life and bereavement in the NICU.
Materials and Methods: A qualitative content analysis method was used for this study. Data were collected through single semi-structured interviews with 24 participants. Sampling was conducted based on the purposive sampling method in five NICU environments in Iran. All interviews were taped and transcribed verbatim.
Results: Data analysis revealed two main themes: information and communication. For information, there were two subthemes (true information about the infant’s health and true information about the infant’s death), and communication needs also developed two subthemes (communication with healthcare professionals and communication with the infant before, during and after the infant’s death).
Conclusions: According to the results, parents need accurate information about the health and the death of their neonates in the NICU. They also need to communicate with healthcare professionals and their babies. Communication is regarded as a channel for obtaining information. Therefore, the healthcare team needs to address these families’ needs and attempt to fulfill their requirements in neonatal end-of-life and bereavement in the NICU.
Keywords: Intensive Care Units; Neonatal; Access to Information; Bereavement; End-of-Life Care; Infant Death
N Sadeghi
Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal
2016
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
DOI: 10.5812/ircmj.2566