Perspective of family members regarding the process of dying in the intensive care unit

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the perspective of family members on end-of-life in the Intensive Care Unit. This is an exploratory descriptive study with a qualitative approach. Semi-structured individual interviews were held with eight family members of terminally-ill patients receiving inpatient treatment in an Intensive Care Unit in a public hospital in Porto Alegre, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. The method of content analysis was used for data analysis. During the process of dying, it was evident that the feelings experienced by the family members were diverse, including distress, insecurity, anger, guilt and missing the loved one. Also demonstrated by the family members were the importance of being with the loved person, and the desire to establish a link between the team-patient-family.