Critical care nurses' knowledge about the care of deceased adult patients in an intensive care unit

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify knowledge deficits about the care of deceased patients among critical care nurses.

Design: The research was conducted as a descriptive study in the adult intensive care units of a university hospital in Istanbul. The data were collected using a questionnaire.

Setting: The study was conducted with nurses working in the medical and surgical intensive care units of a university hospital, including the coronary, neurosurgery, cardiovascular, post‑anaesthesia and emergency intensive care units.

Subjects: The subjects were 61 critical care nurses.

Findings: The majority of nurse respondents (75.4%) did not have a certificate in intensive care nursing and 95.1% had not received education about the care of a deceased patient. There is no standard protocol at the hospital for deceased patient care. The majority of nurses stated they removed instruments, catheters, tubes, dressings from the body and cleaned drainage and secretions, but only 8.1% reported they dressed the patient in a clean gown and combed their hair. Of the nurse respondents, 24.5% did not provide
emotional support to the individual’s family.

Conclusion: Nurses implemented appropriate clinical activities after death, however did not demonstrate appropriate support behaviours toward the patient’s family or loved ones.