Nurses in Intensive Care Unit living and facing death and dying situations <b>[Abstract in English]</b>

Abstract

Aims: To assess the perceptions of nurses from Intensive Care Units about the death of patients, and also the way nurses deal with this situation. Methods: Qualitative and descriptive research was carried out in three general hospitals from a city in the northwest region of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. The subjects of the study were ten nurses who work in Intensive Care Units. For data collection we used semi-structured interview. Analysis was based on methodological steps used in thematic analysis. Results: Data collected and analyzed allowed the development of a category of analysis about the perceptions, feelings and mechanisms of confrontation faced to death and dying experienced by the nurses. Conclusions: This study enables reflection, discussion and socialization of feelings experienced in the process of death of a person hospitalized in an Intensive Care Unit, and it may facilitate the interventions with this subject, minimizing the suffering of professionals, and qualifying health assistance.