Must Attend

Sunday, Sep 26 - Expo Hall Opening
Sunday, Sep 26 - Job Fair
Monday, Sep 27 - AWHONN's Block Party

more

Monday, September 27, 2010 : 1:30 PM

Title: Evidence-Informed Bereavement Care Guideline for Nurses

Venetian
Ariella Lang, RN, PhD , VON Canada, Montreal, QC, Canada
Andrea R. Fleiszer, RN, BSc, BN, PhD, student , School of Nursing, McGill University / McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
Fabie Duhamel, RN, PhD , Faculty of Nursing, Université de Montréal , Montreal, QC, Canada
Megan Aston, RN, PhD , School of Nursing, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
Kathleen Gilbert, PhD, CFLE, FT , Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Wendy Ann Sword, * , Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, School of Nursing, Hamilton, ON, Canada

Discipline: Childbearing (CB)

Learning Objectives:
  1. Summarize and describe an evidence-informed bereavement care guideline for nurses
  2. Contextualize the guideline recommendations and thus increase the potential for its successful implementation and sustainability
  3. Discuss strengthening focus on health-promotion rather than on negative outcomes associated with bereavement
Submission Description:
Background: Bereavement care is a unique health services challenge facing nurses and other health professionals as they help families dealing with the loss of a loved one. The death of a fetus or infant has been described as one of the more difficult losses a family may experience. There is a need to translate existing bereavement care evidence into practice and policy in an effort to provide seamless and comprehensive care to women and families who experience the loss of a fetus or infant. In collaboration with other team members, nurses are in a strategic position to support individuals and families around the death of a loved one. Yet, as is the case with other professionals, nurses often feel ill-prepared in knowing how to be with and to care for the bereaved. This perception can lead to ethical dissonance, emotional distress, and may contribute to burnout. Nurses have identified the need for enhancing their knowledge and skills for caring for the bereaved in a health promoting fashion. Given the ubiquitous presence of nurses around deaths, nurses are also positioned to lead and motivate other members of the team to improve their knowledge, skills, and attitude in bereavement care. Methods: An evidence-informed bereavement care guideline for nurses was created through a combination of research strategies and with an emphasis on co-construction of the various participants' perspectives. In addition to a comprehensive review of the literature an interdisciplinary panel of experts in bereavement care formed the foundational content and framework for the guideline recommendations. The focus groups provided a forum to elicit feedback about the recommendations and how to best implement them. Focus groups were comprised of nurses, directors/managers, and bereaved family members. Descriptive thematic analysis was used to collate, synthesize, and refine the data to produce the bereavement care guideline. Results: Recommendations were organized around four domains: practice, education and continuing professional development, research, and policy and community development. Some examples of recommendations include: Practice-Nurses identify, acknowledge, promote, and reinforce family members' strengths and potentials. Education: Nurses develop, nurture, and evaluate an ongoing awareness of themselves in relation to bereavement and bereavement care, both personally and professionally. Research: Nurse researchers who study bereavement and bereavement care seek opportunities to share research outcomes and new knowledge, and their applicability to the practice setting. Nurse researchers also seek opportunities to listen to and learn from the voices and experiences of practicing nurses. Policy: Nurses and organizations, in partnership, advocate for changes in public policy. Conclusions: The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario is publishing this bereavement care guideline as part of its Nursing Best Practice Guidelines Program. The guideline's recommendations are pertinent to the care nurses provide to grieving mothers, parents, and families. One of the intended goals of this project is to strengthen the focus on health-promotion rather than on the negative outcomes associated with bereavement. By integrating these recommendations, nurses will be better equipped to care for bereaved families as they navigate the challenges of losing a fetus or infant.