Nurses\' Experiences of Palliative Care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background and Objective: Palliative care for newborns and their families is urgent. Nurses' experiences need to be considered in order to implement palliative care. Therefore, the present study was conducted to explain the Nurses' Experiences of Palliative Care in the NICU. Material and Methods: This study was conducted by qualitative content analysis in the neonatal intensive care units of Isfahan, Iran, in 2020. Inclusion criteria for nurses were the consent to participate in the study and experience of caring for the newborn and their family at the end of life. For data collection by the purposeful sampling method, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 nurses. Interviews were recorded, typed, and analyzed. Goba and Lincoln criteria were used to ensure the rigor of the data. Results: The first theme was palliative care for the newborn. This theme consists of two categories: "compassionate end-of-life care" and " spiritual end-of-life care". The second theme was palliative care of the family. This theme consists of two categories: "Palliative care of the family before the death of the newborn" and "Palliative care of the family after the death of the newborn ". Conclusion: The results of this research are in line with the WHO definition of palliative care in pediatric, which refers to the active total care of the child's body, mind and spirit, and family support. The results of this research are used to improve the care of infants and families at the end of life and death for officials and nurses of NICU.

Keywords

• palliative care
• neonatal intensive care unit
• qualitative study