Thai nurses' lived experience of caring for persons who had a peaceful death in intensive care units

The objective of this study was to describe the lived experience of caring for persons who had a peaceful death in the intensive care units in Thailand. A qualitative research design informed by hermeneutic phenomenology was used to analyze data. Participants were 10 intensive care nurses working at adult intensive care units in south Thailand. A snowball purposive sampling method was used to select the participants. Participant inclusion criteria were at least six months' critical care nursing experience, experience in caring for a person who had peaceful death, able to describe peaceful death, and willing to participate in this study. Participants who met the inclusion criteria were interviewed. Face-to-face individual verbal interviews were conducted in the Thai language. These interviews were audiotape recorded. Descriptions were transcribed and translated for data analysis. Van Manen's (1990) hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used to analyze and interpret the data. The findings of this study were presented in each of 4 categories of the lived world of temporality, of spatiality, of corporeality, and of relationality. The description of the lived experience of caring for persons who had a peaceful death in ICU was, "understanding the other through the valuing of experience and enhancing relations with others by recognizing time is short and is a priority." This study may contribute to nursing knowledge of the end-of-life care to enhance a peaceful death in intensive care units congruently with Thai culture and society. In addition, this study directs the translations of its knowledge into implications that will benefit in helping Thai nursing to move forward. The implications of this study in advance will benefit terminally ill persons and family members regarding receiving good quality end-of-life care.