The staff's experience of the death of a child and of supporting the family.
The purpose of the study was to describe how staff members experience the death of a child and how they support the grieving family. The goal is to find means to improve supporting activities in the university hospital. The data for this study were collected with a questionnaire given to the staff who encounter the death of a foetus or infant at their work (n = 102). The questionnaire contained both structured and open-ended questions. Altogether, 69 members of the staff (68%) answered the questionnaire. The open-ended questions were analysed using content analysis. The staff experiences of a child's death manifested themselves in grief, feelings of injustice, experiences of one's limited resources, and relief. About half (51%) of the respondents estimated that they were able to support families rather well. Education in supporting the grieving family increased the ability to support families. Social support for families included emotional, informational, and concrete support. The majority of the staff expected support from colleagues after the death of a child. The study results show that the hospital staff supports the grieving family, but also recognizes their inadequacy as supporters. The staff also needs support in order to be able to support the grieving family.
Kaunonen
M
M
Department of Nursing Science, University of Tampere, Finland. numaka@uta.fi
Tarkka
M T
MT
Hautamäki
K
K
Paunonen
M
M
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001293:Attitude to Death; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010348:Patient Care Team; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires