Approaching grief in a neonatal intensive care unit: protocol versus intuition

Abordaje del duelo en una unidad de cuidado intensivo neonatal: entre el protocolo y la intuición

Objective: to identify bereavement interventions delivered by healthcare staff to families following the death of a newborn in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Introduction: neonatal death maintains a certain degree of epidemiological presentation at a global and national level, even though technological and public health developments have reduced it. Neonatal death in the NICU, or its possibility, emotionally affects both families and staff, leading to context-specific relationships within this hospital subculture. Identifying NICU-led bereavement care provided for pain and grief is very important. Methodology: a qualitative focused ethnographic study, conducted in the NICU of a level IV hospital in Bogotá. Daily participant observation from June 2015 to September 2016 and semi-structured interviews to key informants from 2015 to 2017, were conducted. Results: three emerging categories were constructed from data sources feedback: 1) daily life in the NICU; 2) accompaniment process during grief using protocol versus intuition and 3) death as an always unexpected outcome. Conclusions: death or its imminence distorts bonds, communication, and overall work in the NICU. 

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