Aspects of caring for suddenly bereaved relatives
Background: When a person suddenly pass away, the relatives often arrive to the Emergency Department under chaotic circumstances. In this critical situation the nurse has an important role for the care. Many nurses lack of knowledge about how to take care of the bereaved relatives. Aim: The aim of the literature study was to describe aspects of caring for suddenly bereaved relatives. Method: The data for the study were scientific articles found in the databases PubMed and Cinahl and from a manual search. The study included ten articles which were analysed using a content analysis. The content was organized in meaning units, subcategories and main categories. Result: The study resulted in three main categories: Factors that affect nurses care, Relatives needs and Conditions in the working area. Nurses with high competence and a high level of self knowledge seemed to have the best opportunities to take care of bereaved relatives. The relatives valued emotional support, confirmation, justification of their grief reactions and honest information. Lack of facilities such as private rooms, stressful situations and unclearly defined responsibility areas were factors that affected nurses care about bereaved relatives .Conclusion: Insufficient knowledge concerning the care of bereaved relatives is a fact among nurses today. Further science focused on relatives experiences are necessary to give nurses and other health care personnel increased knowledge. It is our hope that this study may inspire such science.