End-of-life care provision: experiences of intensive care nurses in Iraq.
BACKGROUND
Nurses play a key role in providing care for the critically ill in the intensive care unit (ICU). The physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual intimate care given by Kurdish nurses allows them to develop a therapeutic relationship with terminally ill patients in the ICU.


OBJECTIVE
This study sought to explore the meaning of caring for terminally ill patients from the perspective of Kurdish ICU nurses.


METHODS
Van Manen's (1990) hermeneutic phenomenological design was adopted.


METHODS
The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 10 nurses working in ICUs. Interviews were transcribed and finally analysed according to Van Manen's method.


RESULTS
Four major themes including emotional labour, death as a positive dimension, optimistic rather than futile care and working within constraints emerged.


CONCLUSIONS
Kurdish nurses in their caring encounters with terminally ill patients experienced a range of feelings from emotional strain to being optimistic while working within limited resources in the ICU. Further research is needed to explore the experiences of nurses with other cultures of caring for terminally ill patients in ICUs.


CONCLUSIONS
End-of-life care in ICU is emotionally challenging, therefore, nurses in this setting require psychological and spiritual support to ensure optimal care provision.
Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, International Campus (IUMS-IC), Tehran, Iran.
Forough
F
Rafii
Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, International Campus (TUMS-IC), Tehran, Iran.
Alireza
A
Nikbakht Nasrabadi
Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, International Campus (TUMS-IC), Tehran, Iran.
Muaf Abdulla
MA
Karim
D000328:Adult; D064648:Critical Care Nursing; D003643:Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007493:Iraq; D008297:Male; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000379:methods*
Critical care nursing; ICU follow-up; Intensive care; Phenomenological research; Qualitative research