Quality of Dying and Death Care from the Perspective of Nurses Working in Intensive Care Units

Due to the high mortality of patients admitted to the intensive care unit, the provision of high quality nursing care, especially for patients admitted to these wards, is of great importance, so the quality of death and dying in these wards is necessary. The aim of this study was to determine the quality of dying and death from the perspective of nurses working in intensive care units.

The present study was performed cross-sectional in the teaching hospitals of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. The research samples in this cross-sectional study were 105 nurses working in intensive care units who were selected by census. Data collection tools included two sections: demographic information, Quality of Dying and Death Questionnaire (QODD).

The results of the present study showed that the mean and standard deviation of the quality of dying and death variable were 37.15±13.47 and below the mean. Among the items related to the quality of death, the highest average was related to receiving appropriate sedation during the stay in the intensive care unit (5.80±2.41) and being touched or hugged by loved ones (4.90±2.78) and the lowest average quality of care was related to having a spiritual ceremony before the patient's death (2.12±2.59) and having one or more visits to a religious or spiritual counselor (2.24±2.66). There was a statistically significant relationship between the quality of dying and death and the history of passing training courses related to dying and death (P=0.03).

It is recommended to hold training courses related to quality dying and death care criteria for personnel working in intensive care units, as well as to evaluate the quality of mortality care from the perspective of the families of patients admitted to the intensive care unit.