Children's Nurses' experiences in delivering bereavement care to children and families with life limiting conditions in the Irish context

Children's Nurses' experiences in delivering bereavement care to children and families with life limiting conditions in the Irish context

Power S; Kelly-Horrigan M

Bmc Pregnancy And Childbirth

2017

Bereavement support; nurse; bereavement; Child; genetic transcription; hospice care; Human; Informed Consent; Ireland; Only Child; Palliative therapy; research ethics; semi structured interview; Terminal Care

Healthcare providers influence the experiences of families during end of life care and death of a child*. Nurses are best placed to provide bereavement support as they have opportunities to build therapeutic relationships through closely and frequently caring for the child and family. This relationship is essential within the delivery of bereavement care. However, there is a dearth of information on nurses' emic perspective and experiences within this area. The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of children's nurses' (RCN) in delivering bereavement care to children and their families with life limiting conditions, and what meaning they ascribe to their experience. In addition, the aim was to explore what impact provision of bereavement care had on RCN's as service providers, and what their needs were in the provision of effective, supportive, quality driven bereavement care to this population. Using a phenomenological design guided by Heideggerian approach underpinned by Ricoeur's analytical framework, seven semistructured interviews were conducted with RCN's with experience of delivering children's palliative care and bereavement care in Ireland. Interviews were taped and transcribed verbatim. Three themes were identified; 'being communicative and collaborative', 'being challenged' and 'being familiar'. These themes encompassed nurses' experiences with both families and healthcare professionals, highlighting the benefits for RCN involvement in the delivery of bereavement care to promote overall best outcomes. The findings support the role of RCN's in the delivery of bereavement care to children and families with life limiting conditions. It highlights the need for RCN's to be educated, up-skilled, supported, and included within the interdisciplinary team to deliver bereavement care. Ethical approval for the study was granted by LauraLynn Research Ethics Committee (2016). Written informed consent was obtained by all study participants.

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