Greek nurse and physician grief as a result of caring for children dying of cancer.

Full Abstract

This descriptive study explored and compared the grief responses and experiences of Greek physicians and nurses who provide care to children dying of cancer. Interviews were conducted with 14 oncologists and 16 pediatric oncology nurses. Data were subjected to a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. For both groups, the dying process and death of children were highly stressful experiences and triggered a grieving process. Differences, however, were observed in terms of the way these two groups (a) perceived the loss of the child and (b) expressed or avoided their grief. It became apparent that health professionals' grieving process was affected by how they perceived their role, interventions, and contribution in the care of the dying child, which in turn was influenced by the social and cultural context in which care is provided to children with cancer. Findings suggest that despite the distress caused by children's death, both nurses and physicians identified specific rewards they reaped from caring for children who are terminally ill.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Papadatou, Danai (D); Bellali, Thalia (T); Papazoglou, Irene (I); Petraki, Dimitra (D);

Affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Athens, Greece.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Pediatric nursing (Pediatr Nurs), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2002 Jul-Aug; vol 28 (issue 4) : pp 345-53

Dates: Created 2002/09/13; Completed 2002/10/10; Revised 2007/11/15;

PMID: 12226956, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Attitude to Death
Caregivers - psychology
Child
Decision Making
Greece
Grief
Humans

Interviews as Topic
Medical Oncology
Nurses - psychology
Pediatric Nursing
Physicians - psychology
Stress, Psychological
Terminal Care - psychology

This article has not been indexed for related articles as yet, however you can still use the live related article search links below.

See 100+ related articles.