Intensive care unit nurse′s perceptions of obstacles to the provision of end-of-life care in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A mixed methods study

23^rd World Nurse Practitioner Conference

September 28-29, 2017 Dubai, UAE

Zakaria A Mani

Monash University, KSA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

Many patients die in intensive care units within an intense medical treatment environment and this situation can affect the quality of end-of-life care. Studies have reported that nurses may feel a sense of failure when their patient is dying and can find the provision of end-of-life care emotionally difficult. Very little is known about this phenomenon in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where multiple cultural influences may further influence end-of-life care provision. The aim of this study was to explore nurse�s perceptions of obstacles to the provision of end-of-life care in intensive care units in Saudi Arabia. A sequential explanatory mixed method design was used. This method included two phases: Questionnaires and Interviews. For phase one, a questionnaire developed by Beckstrand and Kirchhoff (2005) was used. The interviews were conducted with four ICU charge nurses. The two phases were conducted in a major specialist hospital in 2015 at Saudi Arabia. The phase one findings highlighted concerns with patient�s family, physicians who differed in opinions, cultural differences and how language barriers affect communication. The nurses also suggested avoiding unnecessary care, the need for end-of-life care awareness; education and preparation were also issues. The phase two findings indicated concerns when family members did not understand the patient�s situations, lack of family support, cultural differences and language barriers. The nurses suggested the need for endof- life care awareness for nurses and increased involvement of nurses in decision-making. The conclusion of this study shows a number of obstacles to the provision of end-of-life care in intensive care units, which may affect nurse�s ability to maintain quality end-of-life care. Therefore, the further development of both end-of-life care guidelines and nursing education about end-of-life care in intensive care units in Saudi Arabia is recommended.