Sjuksköterskans förhållningssätt till döden och döendet i vården

Abstract

Background: Every year, around 95 000 people die in Sweden. Most die after a prolonged illness, and care for their last time in the life in specific residential or in their own home. Nurses will encounter death in various situations throughout their working lives. Nurses pertains a professional group which extend a big risk with emotional confrontation and extreme situations. Knowledge about what effect them and how they approach death and dying, can improve a more open and aware attitude in the nursing care. Aim: To illuminate nurses attitude toward death and dying in care, as well as what affect them in their approach. Method: General literature review by database searches. Result: Nurses approach death as worthy or unworthy. Experience and time affect nurses' attitude in health care work. Emotional balance between proximity and distance was important, the existential questions and acceptance affected nurses in their idea of dying and death. They pursue an emphatic approach. Nurses processes events and reflect mainly using informal support. Conclusion: Nurses has different attitude towards death and dying, they use conscious and unconscious compensation strategies, also known as problem-solving and emotions-solving coping.