Patient Loss, Coping And Recovery; A Qualitative Study Of Lived Experiences Of Intensive Care Unit Nurses In Selected Hospitals In Ghana

Abstract

The experience of patient death is a usual phenomenon in the hospital setting. Caring for, and being close to critically ill and dying patients elicits intense emotional and psychological reactions and can result in burnout among nurses. A review of the literature shows that little is known about the lived experiences of nurses concerning patient death. The study sought to explore the lived experiences of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses concerning patient loss, coping, and recovery from the experience. A qualitative design with semi-structured interviews was adopted. Twenty-five (25) ICU nurses were purposively and conveniently sampled from the Greater Accra and Eastern Regional Hospitals. Participants included 4 male and 21 female nurses between the ages of 23 and 42 with a standard deviation of 29.2. Data gathered was analyzed using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Six superordinate themes were gleaned from the data gathered. These are nurses’ memories of the experience of patient death, psychological impact, coping strategies, administrative structures, recovery, and capacity to handle the experience. The participants’ memories of patient death experiences hinged on their painful memories, the condition of the patients and their emotional reaction to the experience. The patient death experience was found to result in emotional numbness, competence questioning, and an awareness of one’s mortality. The participants’ coping strategies, administrative structures available for them, the process of recovery, and their capacity to handle the experience effectively were also explored. It is recommended that nursing training and administration consider insights from this thesis to put in place measures to better position nurses to handle patient death in healthcare facilities. This study provides vital information to clinical psychologists regarding the psychological and emotional impact of the experience and a basis for the design of effective interventions for addressing such experiences associated with patient deaths.