Intensive Care Nurses’ Experiences of Caring during the Organ Donor Process in Sweden – a Qualitative StudyShow others and affiliations
2022 (English)In: International Journal of Caring Sciences, ISSN 1791-5201, E-ISSN 1792-037X, Vol. 15, no 2, p. 720-726Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Background: The organ donor process is challenging, not at least for intensive care nurses. The situation changesradically, from intensively working to save the patient’s life to instead caring for the donor patient’s organs so thatthose, in turn, can save another patient’s life. The donation process challenges nurses’ view on what dignifiedcaring at end-of-life entails. The inner core of caring comprises love, mercy and compassion. Dignified caring isrelated to treating the patient as a unique human being and respecting human value, rooted in the theory of caritativecaring that is the framework for this study.Aim: The aim was to illuminate intensive care nurses’ experiences of caring during the organ donor process, froma caring science perspective.Methodology: A descriptive research design including inductive qualitative content analysis of interviews withtwelve intensive care nurses in Sweden about their experiences of caring during the donor process.Results: The theme The complexity of caring during the organ donor process with two categories and fivesubcategories was generated. Intensive care nurses experienced caring during the donor process as being complexin relation to the potential donor patient and patient’s family as well as communication, teamwork andorganization. Caring affects not only the patient and families, but also the nurses and receivers of the donatedorgans. Intensive care nurses perceive the other’s life situation as if it were their own and recognize the importanceof shared humanity.Conclusion: The present study can increase knowledge from intensive care nurses and the caring team, in orderto provide better conditions such as the development of effective intervention strategies in the process of organdonor care as well as caring for the families and members of the team.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2022. Vol. 15, no 2, p. 720-726
National Category
Health Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-60259OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mdh-60259DiVA, id: diva2:1704391
2022-10-182022-10-182022-10-18Bibliographically approved