PMID- 17126185
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20070207
LR  - 20200401
IS  - 0099-1767 (Print)
IS  - 0099-1767 (Linking)
VI  - 32
IP  - 6
DP  - 2006 Dec
TI  - Emergency nurses' perceptions of obstacles and supportive behaviors in 
      end-of-life care.
PG  - 477-85
AB  - INTRODUCTION: Little is known about emergency nurses' perceptions of either 
      obstacles or supportive behaviors for providing end-of life (EOL) care to dying 
      patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived obstacles and 
      supportive behaviors in providing EOL care to dying patients in emergency 
      departments. METHODS: In this survey research, a 73-item questionnaire regarding 
      EOL care was mailed to a geographically dispersed national random sample of 300 
      members of the Emergency Nurses Association. Descriptive statistics were 
      calculated for the 54 Likert-type items and demographic items. Two open-ended 
      questions were analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS: Returns after 3 mailings 
      yielded 169 usable questionnaires from 284 eligible respondents for a return rate 
      of 59.5%. The greatest obstacles were: (1) emergency nurses having too great a 
      work load to care for dying patients; (2) emergency nurses having to deal with 
      angry family members; and (3) the poor design of emergency departments that do 
      not allow for privacy of dying patients or grieving family members. The most 
      supportive behaviors were: (1) good communication between the physician and RN 
      caring for the dying patient; (2) physicians meeting in person with the family 
      after the patient's death; and (3) an emergency department designed so that the 
      family has a place to grieve in private. DISCUSSION: Having a better 
      understanding of emergency nurses' perceptions of obstacles and supportive 
      behaviors in providing end-of-life care could help decrease the stress of caring 
      for dying patients. Actions could be taken to decrease the highest rated 
      obstacles and increase the ratings of supportive behaviors that may ultimately 
      result in better end-of-life care for dying patients and their families in the 
      emergency setting.
FAU - Heaston, Sondra
AU  - Heaston S
AD  - Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602-5432, USA.
FAU - Beckstrand, Renea L
AU  - Beckstrand RL
FAU - Bond, A Elaine
AU  - Bond AE
FAU - Palmer, Sheri P
AU  - Palmer SP
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20061013
PL  - United States
TA  - J Emerg Nurs
JT  - Journal of emergency nursing
JID - 7605913
MH  - Communication
MH  - *Emergency Nursing
MH  - Female
MH  - Health Care Surveys
MH  - Health Facility Environment
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - *Needs Assessment
MH  - Professional-Family Relations
MH  - *Social Support
MH  - *Terminal Care
MH  - United States
MH  - Workload
EDAT- 2006/11/28 09:00
MHDA- 2007/02/08 09:00
CRDT- 2006/11/28 09:00
PHST- 2006/11/28 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2007/02/08 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2006/11/28 09:00 [entrez]
AID - S0099-1767(06)00494-6 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.jen.2006.07.013 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Emerg Nurs. 2006 Dec;32(6):477-85. doi: 10.1016/j.jen.2006.07.013. Epub 2006 
      Oct 13.