Macdonald Mary Ellen, Liben Stephen, Carnevale Franco A, Rennick Janet E, Wolf Susan L, Meloche Donald, Cohen S Robin
Pediatric Palliative Care Program, Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Pediatrics. 2005 Oct;116(4):884-90. doi: 10.1542/peds.2004-1980.
Acts of kindness and commemoration by staff members often follow the death of a patient. Acts include attending funerals, sending sympathy cards, sending cards on birthdays/anniversaries, telephoning/visiting family homes, and attending memorial services. This study explores the significance of these acts for bereaved parents.
Twelve parents whose children died in the ICU of a tertiary care pediatric hospital were interviewed, to explore their experiences of the death. Investigators reviewed transcripts and observational field notes. Multidisciplinary team triangulation was used to corroborate themes, with cross-case analysis.
Three themes emerged regarding parental experiences of staff members' acts, ie, (1) parents placed great importance on the hospital's memorial service and on staff members' presence at the service; (2) parents found it difficult to return to the hospital after the child's death but all attended the memorial service, finding some closure in the return; and (3) parents appreciated receiving cards and greatly valued staff members' efforts to telephone/visit and to attend the funeral. Months later, parents remembered positively which staff members engaged in which activities. Conversely, parents expressed disappointment when staff members did not engage in these activities and/or were absent from memorial/funeral services.
Efforts to support families and to commemorate deceased children are appreciated by bereaved parents. Staff members' absences at commemorative events and a lack of supportive acts are noticed and regretted by families. Staff members and program administrators should attempt to arrange workloads to ensure meaningful contact between staff members and parents during the bereavement period.
患者死亡后，医护人员常常会做出一些善意和纪念的举动。这些举动包括参加葬礼、寄送慰问卡、在生日/纪念日时寄送贺卡、打电话/拜访患者家属住所，以及参加追悼会。本研究探讨这些举动对丧亲父母的意义。
对12位在一家三级护理儿童医院重症监护室（ICU）失去孩子的父母进行了访谈，以探究他们在孩子死亡后的经历。研究人员审查了访谈记录和实地观察笔记。采用多学科团队三角互证法来证实主题，并进行跨案例分析。
关于父母对医护人员举动的体验出现了三个主题，即：（1）父母非常重视医院的追悼会以及医护人员出席追悼会；（2）孩子死后，父母发现很难再回到医院，但所有人都参加了追悼会，并在重返医院的过程中找到了某种解脱；（3）父母很感激收到贺卡，并非常珍视医护人员打电话/拜访以及参加葬礼的努力。几个月后，父母仍能积极地回忆起哪些医护人员参与了哪些活动。相反，当医护人员没有做出这些举动和/或缺席追悼会/葬礼时，父母会表示失望。
丧亲父母感激医护人员为支持家庭和纪念已故孩子所做出的努力。医护人员缺席纪念活动以及缺乏支持性举动会被家属注意到并感到遗憾。医护人员和项目管理人员应尝试安排工作量，以确保在丧亲期间医护人员与父母之间有有意义的接触。
