Understanding how PICU Nurses Care for Dying Children and their Families

University Of California, San Francisco, San Francisco CA

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Abstract

The goal of this doctoral research training program is to understand how pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) nurses care for dying children and their families. The specific aims are: 1) to describe PICU nurses'perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes toward palliative care in the intensive care unit;2) to describe PICU nurses'competence and comfort in delivering palliative care;3) to investigate the resources and support available to PICU nurses in providing care for dying children and their families;and 4) to describe how palliative nursing care is delivered in the PICU. Grounded theory research methods will be used to achieve these aims. Open-ended interviews and participant observation during clinical practice will be conducted with nurses from a single PICU, allowing for in-depth analysis of the roles that both individual and environmental factors play in the delivery of end-of-life care to children and families in the PICU. Audio- recordings of the interviews and field notes from observations will allow for analysis of themes and the development of a theoretical model that describes PICU nurses'work with dying children and their families.