Exploring nurses’ end-of-life care for dying patients in the ICU using focus group interviews

Sun Kyeong Jang; Won Hee Park; Hyo In Kim; Sung Ok Chang

doi:10.1016/j.iccn.2018.09.007

Exploring nurses’ end-of-life care for dying patients in the ICU using focus group interviews

Sun Kyeong Jang, Won Hee Park, Hyo In Kim, Sung Ok Chang

Department of Nursing

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is to illuminate how nurses working in an intensive care unit perceive their professional duties regarding end-of-life care based on their end-of-life care experience. Design and methods: A qualitative research design utilising focus-group interviews was employed. Two focus groups with twelve nurses were recruited, one consisting of nurses with less than five years of clinical experience in intensive care units and the other with more than five years of experience. Findings: An analysis of the nurses’ explorations of end-of-life care in an intensive care unit for patients facing impending death revealed three main themes: (1) facing an extreme change in human existence, (2) being in the presence of the patient's transition and (3) being prepared as an intensive care unit nurse. These three themes covered a total of 16 subthemes. Conclusion: The findings of this study outline how intensive care unit nurses perceive dying patients and how they manage end-of-life care. It also illustrates how patients and their families can be included in the process, and this should be a component of nurses’ education regarding end-of-life care.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	3-8
Number of pages	6
Journal	Intensive and Critical Care Nursing
Volume	52
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iccn.2018.09.007
Publication status	Published - 2019 Jun

Keywords

Dying patient
End-of-life care
Intensive care unit
Nurse

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Critical Care

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10.1016/j.iccn.2018.09.007

Cite this

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title = "Exploring nurses{\textquoteright} end-of-life care for dying patients in the ICU using focus group interviews",

abstract = "Purpose: The aim of this study is to illuminate how nurses working in an intensive care unit perceive their professional duties regarding end-of-life care based on their end-of-life care experience. Design and methods: A qualitative research design utilising focus-group interviews was employed. Two focus groups with twelve nurses were recruited, one consisting of nurses with less than five years of clinical experience in intensive care units and the other with more than five years of experience. Findings: An analysis of the nurses{\textquoteright} explorations of end-of-life care in an intensive care unit for patients facing impending death revealed three main themes: (1) facing an extreme change in human existence, (2) being in the presence of the patient's transition and (3) being prepared as an intensive care unit nurse. These three themes covered a total of 16 subthemes. Conclusion: The findings of this study outline how intensive care unit nurses perceive dying patients and how they manage end-of-life care. It also illustrates how patients and their families can be included in the process, and this should be a component of nurses{\textquoteright} education regarding end-of-life care.",

keywords = "Dying patient, End-of-life care, Intensive care unit, Nurse",

author = "Jang, {Sun Kyeong} and Park, {Won Hee} and Kim, {Hyo In} and Chang, {Sung Ok}",

note = "Funding Information: We wish to thank all the participants for sharing their experiences. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. The study was approved by the institutional review board of Korea University (IRB No 1040548-KU-IRB-15-178-A-2). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 Elsevier Ltd Copyright: Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

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doi = "10.1016/j.iccn.2018.09.007",

language = "English",

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AU - Chang, Sung Ok

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N2 - Purpose: The aim of this study is to illuminate how nurses working in an intensive care unit perceive their professional duties regarding end-of-life care based on their end-of-life care experience. Design and methods: A qualitative research design utilising focus-group interviews was employed. Two focus groups with twelve nurses were recruited, one consisting of nurses with less than five years of clinical experience in intensive care units and the other with more than five years of experience. Findings: An analysis of the nurses’ explorations of end-of-life care in an intensive care unit for patients facing impending death revealed three main themes: (1) facing an extreme change in human existence, (2) being in the presence of the patient's transition and (3) being prepared as an intensive care unit nurse. These three themes covered a total of 16 subthemes. Conclusion: The findings of this study outline how intensive care unit nurses perceive dying patients and how they manage end-of-life care. It also illustrates how patients and their families can be included in the process, and this should be a component of nurses’ education regarding end-of-life care.

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Exploring nurses’ end-of-life care for dying patients in the ICU using focus group interviews

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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