Grieving Children' Death in an Intensive Care Unit: Implementation of a Standardized Process.

Abstract

<b><i>Background:</i></b> The grief that accompanies witnessing the death of a child puts health care professionals at risk of secondary trauma, burnout, and turnover when left unaddressed. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> Support staff well-being and promote resiliency. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Descriptive implementation of a structured, peer-to-peer bereavement support program for intensive care unit (ICU) staff at a tertiary children's hospital. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Thirty-five virtual sessions were held over the period of one year.Through these sessions, participants shared perspectives and normalized reactions, and explored potential coping strategies. Post-session feedback surveys demonstrated the negative impact of a death on the personal or work life of ICU staff. Additionally, nearly all reported some level of burnout. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The sessions were feasible and positively impacted staff coping and well-being. Barriers and facilitators to session attendance, as well as suggestions for improvement, were also explored. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. No clinical trial registration is applicable.