title: Nurses' experience of loss on the death of older persons in long-term residential care: findings from an interpretative phenomenological study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known of the experience of loss among nurses working with older persons in long-stay settings.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to explore and describe the experience of loss among nurses working in a long-term residential care setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was the method adopted. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews undertaken with seven nurses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The findings revealed three main themes: 'life's final journey', 'family' and 'professional carer'.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The experience of loss on the death of an older person is described by nurses in the context of the care they give at end of life, and the relationships nurses developed with the older person's family. Where the older person has no contact with family, nurses become the 'family' and this contributed to the feeling of loss experienced. Finally, the loss experienced by nurses when an older person dies suddenly can often be emotive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Supporting nurses in their provision of end-of-life care to older persons is essential. Nurses' attempts to keep memories of deceased residents alive by remembrance, helps place loss in the context of acknowledgment of the person's life.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gannon
authors.forename: Maura
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dowling
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001293:Attitude to Death; D005260:Female; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D012112:Residential Facilities; D012297:Right to Die; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000523:psychology