Interaction Between Providers and Parents After an End-Of-Life Scenario
| Quotes From Evaluators or Examples of Participants’ Interactions Reported by Evaluators | ||
|---|---|---|
| Examples of Behaviors To Adopt | Examples of Behaviors To Avoid | |
| Positive interactions with parents after the resuscitation | ||
| Clearly state the child died | “She is dead, I am sorry.” | “He just said it was tragic but did not mention death once.” |
| Avoid medical jargon related to death | “We tried everything we could to save her life, but it didn’t work. She is dead.” | “She was born without a heart; it never came back.” |
| Tell parents they could not have prevented the death | “There is nothing you could have done to prevent this.” | “She told the parents it was a shame they did not come to the hospital earlier.” |
| Listen and provide moments of silence | “She spoke slowly, listened; there were many pauses.” | “He just wouldn’t stop speaking. Parents couldn’t get a word in.” |
| Provide proximity | ||
| Provider-parent | “The doctor was sitting on a chair, at the same level as the mom in her bed.” | “She was standing up, in the corner, with no eye contact.” |
| Provider-infant | “He took the baby in his arms and you could tell he cared.” | “He just left the baby naked on the table when he went to speak to the parents.” |
| Parent-infant | “She placed Beatrice in the parents’ arms, placed all 4 hands together, after telling them she would.” | “She spoke to Dad alone, then went to speak to Mom, and the baby was alone on the table, dead. Everybody was alone.” |
| Be knowledgeable about what happens after death | “He knew what happened to the body, the practical aspects after death.” | “He had no idea about the body and the next steps: did not inspire trust.” |
| Offer “formal” support | “She said she would call the psychologist.” | “She just left the room.” |
| Offering future support | “I will always be there in the future if you have questions.” | “She ended abruptly, did not offer follow-up.” |