Caring for families in A&E departments: Scottish and Icelandic nurses' opinions and experiences.

Results from two studies are represented here. The aims of the studies were to survey Accident and Emergency (A&E) nurses' opinions and experiences of caring for families when the patient's condition is critical and suddenly bereaved families. The participants were 111 A&E nurses in Scotland and Iceland. A descriptive study design was used for the purpose of the studies. Data were collected by a questionnaire. The participants perceived themselves to have responsibility for patients' families. The main implications from these studies were that caring for families was not a specially defined factor in these A&E departments and education in caring for families was missing.