Challenges Experienced by Italian Nursing Home Staff in End-of-Life Conversations with Family Caregivers during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

Source avec lien : International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(5). 10.3390/ijerph19052504

Les conversations de fin de vie font partie des scénarios de communication les plus difficiles et figurent à l’ordre du jour de plusieurs établissements de soins, notamment les maisons de soins infirmiers (MSA). Elles peuvent également être difficiles pour les professionnels de santé expérimentés. Cette étude explore les difficultés rencontrées par le personnel des maisons de retraite italiennes lors des conversations de fin de vie avec les aidants familiaux (FC) pendant la pandémie de COVID-19 afin de découvrir leurs besoins éducatifs.

End-of-life conversations are among the most challenging of all communication scenarios and on the agenda of several healthcare settings, including nursing homes (NHs). They may be also difficult for experienced healthcare professionals (HCPs). This study explores the difficulties experienced by Italian NH staff in end-of-life conversations with family caregivers (FCs) during COVID-19 pandemic to uncover their educational needs. HCPs had to face multiple challenging situations that varied across the care period as well as complex emotions such as anxiety, guilt, uncertainty, fear, anger, or suffering, which required tailored answers. COVID-19 pandemic increased FCs’ aggressive behaviors, their distrust, and uncertainty due to visitation restrictions. HCPs had to overcome this by developing a set of strategies, including adoption of an active-listening approach, supportive communication, and explicit acknowledgement of FCs’ emotions. Since communication needs were mostly practical in nature, HCPs valued practical communication training.

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