Meanings of care by bereaved relatives of homicide victims in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: implications for nursing.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose was to describe the meanings of care, kutunza, for the deceased and the relatives of homicide victims. The secondary aim was to identify ways in which nurses could best console the families.


METHODS
An ethnonursing method was employed. Relatives of homicide victims in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, were interviewed at a mortuary, using an interview guide constructed with Leininger's enablers as major elements. Content analysis was performed according to Leininger's phases of ethnonursing analysis of qualitative data.


RESULTS
Families of 30 homicide victims were studied. The mean age of the victims was 30.7 years, range 17 to 47 years. All victims, except 1, were male. The informants included 29 relatives and two close friends. The following four themes were identified: (a) providing basic needs, (b) paying attention as if one were kin, (c) consoling through gathering, and (d) caring for each other.


CONCLUSIONS
Care is manifested by respectful attention to the preparation of the deceased and by providing an environment by which the community can gather to console the bereaved family.


CONCLUSIONS
Respectful preparation of the deceased's body is essential. Nurses can provide emotional support to the families and find an area where the extended family can grieve and console each other.
School of Nursing, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. aoutwater@muhas.ac.tz
Anne H
AH
Outwater
Edith A M
EA
Tarimo
June E
JE
Miller
Jacqueline C
JC
Campbell
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001601:Bereavement; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D054521:Cultural Competency; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D005791:Patient Care; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013636:Tanzania; D016746:Transcultural Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult