Bereaved Families' Experiences of Treatment Withdrawal and End-Of-Life Care in the Intensive Care Unit: An Exploratory-Descriptive Qualitative Study.
Emmanuel Kwame Korsah, Shelley Schmollgruber, Alhassan Sibdow Abukari
PMID 41137516WHAT IT FOUND
Seven bereaved ICU families described shock, emotional strain, and coping through faith.
They wanted private, regular updates, bedside presence, and simple care participation, such as bathing, rubbing cream, or holding hands.
Key findings
01Seven bereaved family members described shock, emotional strain, and coping through faith or prayer.
02Most family members wanted physical presence and simple care participation, such as bathing, changing sheets, rubbing cream, or feeding.
03Families valued frequent updates and private communication; some said discussing prognosis in front of other families was inappropriate.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was done in a single 18-bed multidisciplinary ICU at one South African academic hospital, so it may not apply to other settings. Only 7 of 15 invited bereaved family members were interviewed, and only 10 of 15 followed up were reachable. The sample was small and potentially selective. Participants had to be fluent in English, so experiences of families who did not speak English may be missing. Data were collected 6 months or more after the ICU experience, which may have introduced recall bias. The researchers had worked in the study ICU and had positive relationships with the ICU team, which they acknowledged as possible insider bias. The study reports themes from experiences, not tested outcomes, so it cannot show that any intervention reduced grief, PTSD, or depression.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that family presence, participation, or private communication reduces complicated grief, PTSD, or depression. This qualitative study reported experiences, not tested effects.