Lived experiences of grief of Muslim nurses caring for patients who died in an intensive care unit: A phenomenological study

To describe the meaning of the lived experiences of grief of Muslim nurses caring for patients who died in an intensive care unit. Gadamerian philosophy was used to underpin the hermeneutic phenomenological approach followed to analyse and interpret the lived experiences of nurses who cared for patients who died in intensive care units. Fourteen nurses met the inclusion criteria. They were asked to illustrate their experiences of grief using graphic representation. This was followed by face-to-face interviews during which they were asked to narrate and reflect on their experience. The graphic representation and interview transcripts were analysed using Van Manen's approach. Lincoln and Guba's criteria were followed to establish trustworthiness. An intensive care unit at a tertiary public hospital in West Sumatra Province, Indonesia. Five major thematic categories reflecting the five life-worlds were identified: 'empathetic understanding', 'balancing self', 'avoidance', 'anticipating the future of own death', and 'relating technologies in bargaining'. This study provides further understanding of the meanings of the lived experience of grief among Muslim nurses in intensive care units. Nurses' grief arising from the loss of patients can affect their emotional, cognitive, spiritual, relational and professional well-being. The findings add further knowledge about the end of life in intensive care units.