Grief experiences of nurses after the death of an adult patient in an acute hospital setting: An integrative review of literature

Meller, N; Parker, D; Hatcher, D; Sheehan, A

Grief experiences of nurses after the death of an adult patient in an acute hospital setting: An integrative review of literature

Meller, N Parker, D

Hatcher, D Sheehan, A

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Collegian, 2019, 26 (2), pp. 302 - 310
Issue Date:: 2019-04-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Meller, N	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Parker, D https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2552-8613	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Hatcher, D	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Sheehan, A	en_US
dc.date.issued	2019-04-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Collegian, 2019, 26 (2), pp. 302 - 310	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1322-7696	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/126959
dc.description.abstract	© 2018 Australian College of Nursing Ltd Objective: This integrative review explores current published literature examining grief experiences of nurses who work in hospital settings after the death of a patient in their care and the factors that may impact nurses experiencing grief within the workplace. Background: Healthcare workers such as nurses are required to be competent, skilled and resilient in preparation for the emotional variables and professional responsibilities when managing a patient death. There are publications exploring nurse's grief experiences in palliative care, paediatric nursing or oncology settings, but to date, there is limited relevant literature identifying or exploring grief experiences of nurses working in other speciality areas in a hospital setting after the death of a patient in their care. Methods: Comprehensive online database searches of CINAHL, EBSCO Host, PubMED, MEDLINE, Scopus, Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) and Google Scholar was undertaken using key terms of articles published between 1990–2017. Screening of 317 articles resulted in 5 included for this review. Data analysis was guided by Whittemore and Knafl's five stage process. Findings: Three main themes were identified were ‘the impact of formative death events in clinical practice’, ‘managing personal grief reactions and the factors that influenced these reactions’, and ‘the significance of colleague support when experiencing a patient death’. Conclusion: Personal grief responses displayed by a nurse after a patient has died can have both a positive and negative influence on their professional behaviour in the workplace. It also has the potential for grief complications for individual nurses, which highlights the importance of workplace support for nurses when making clinical decisions after the death of a patient.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Collegian	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.colegn.2018.07.011	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Nursing	en_US
dc.title	Grief experiences of nurses after the death of an adult patient in an acute hospital setting: An integrative review of literature	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	26	en_US
utslib.for	1110 Nursing	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health/Nursing
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	2	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	26	en_US

Abstract:

© 2018 Australian College of Nursing Ltd Objective: This integrative review explores current published literature examining grief experiences of nurses who work in hospital settings after the death of a patient in their care and the factors that may impact nurses experiencing grief within the workplace. Background: Healthcare workers such as nurses are required to be competent, skilled and resilient in preparation for the emotional variables and professional responsibilities when managing a patient death. There are publications exploring nurse's grief experiences in palliative care, paediatric nursing or oncology settings, but to date, there is limited relevant literature identifying or exploring grief experiences of nurses working in other speciality areas in a hospital setting after the death of a patient in their care. Methods: Comprehensive online database searches of CINAHL, EBSCO Host, PubMED, MEDLINE, Scopus, Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) and Google Scholar was undertaken using key terms of articles published between 1990–2017. Screening of 317 articles resulted in 5 included for this review. Data analysis was guided by Whittemore and Knafl's five stage process. Findings: Three main themes were identified were ‘the impact of formative death events in clinical practice’, ‘managing personal grief reactions and the factors that influenced these reactions’, and ‘the significance of colleague support when experiencing a patient death’. Conclusion: Personal grief responses displayed by a nurse after a patient has died can have both a positive and negative influence on their professional behaviour in the workplace. It also has the potential for grief complications for individual nurses, which highlights the importance of workplace support for nurses when making clinical decisions after the death of a patient.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/126959