End-of-Life Care Research Group, Ghent University and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Ghent, Belgium.
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Palliat Med. 2020 Mar;34(3):430-434. doi: 10.1177/0269216319888986. Epub 2019 Nov 19.
Moral distress and burnout related to end-of-life decisions in neonates is common in neonatologists and nurses working in neonatal intensive care units. Attention to their emotional burden and psychological support in research is lacking.
To evaluate perceived psychological support in relation to end-of-life decisions of neonatologists and nurses working in Flemish neonatal intensive care units and to analyse whether or not this support is sufficient.
DESIGN/PARTICIPANTS: A self-administered questionnaire was sent to all neonatologists and neonatal nurses of all eight Flemish neonatal intensive care units (Belgium) in May 2017. The response rate was 63% (52/83) for neonatologists and 46% (250/527) for nurses. Respondents indicated their level of agreement (5-point Likert-type scale) with seven statements regarding psychological support.
About 70% of neonatologists and nurses reported experiencing more stress than normal when confronted with an end-of-life decision; 86% of neonatologists feel supported by their colleagues when they make end-of-life decisions, 45% of nurses feel that the treating physician listens to their opinion when end-of-life decisions are made. About 60% of both neonatologists and nurses would like more psychological support offered by their department when confronted with end-of-life decisions, and 41% of neonatologists and 50% of nurses stated they did not have enough psychological support from their department when a patient died. Demographic groups did not differ in terms of perceived lack of sufficient support.
Even though neonatal intensive care unit colleagues generally support each other in difficult end-of-life decisions, the psychological support provided by their department is currently not sufficient. Professional ad hoc counselling or standard debriefings could substantially improve this perceived lack of support.
在新生儿重症监护病房工作的新生儿科医生和护士在处理新生儿临终决策时，经常会感到道德困境和职业倦怠。目前，人们对他们的情绪负担和心理支持关注较少。
评估在弗拉芒新生儿重症监护病房工作的新生儿科医生和护士在处理临终决策时所感受到的心理支持程度，并分析这种支持是否足够。
设计/参与者：2017 年 5 月，向所有弗拉芒新生儿重症监护病房（比利时）的新生儿科医生和新生儿护士发放了一份自我管理问卷。新生儿科医生的回复率为 63%（52/83），护士的回复率为 46%（250/527）。受访者对 7 个关于心理支持的陈述表示了他们的同意程度（5 分李克特量表）。
大约 70%的新生儿科医生和护士在面临临终决策时报告感到比平时压力更大；86%的新生儿科医生在做出临终决策时感到同事的支持，45%的护士认为在做出临终决策时，主治医生会听取他们的意见。大约 60%的新生儿科医生和护士在面临临终决策时希望科室提供更多的心理支持，41%的新生儿科医生和 50%的护士表示，当患者死亡时，他们没有得到科室足够的心理支持。不同的人口统计学群体在缺乏足够支持方面没有差异。
尽管新生儿重症监护病房的同事们在处理困难的临终决策时通常会相互支持，但他们科室提供的心理支持目前还不够。专业的特别咨询或标准的汇报程序可以大大改善这种缺乏支持的情况。
