LeeAnne Douglas (University of Toronto); Savithiri Ratnapalan (University of Toronto); Sheldon Cheskes (Sunnybrook-Osler Centre for Prehospital Care); Michael Feldman (Sunnybrook-Osler Centre for Prehospital Care)

Synopsis

Communicating a death notification is one of the most stressful experiences that paramedics will encounter. Paramedics find balancing patient care and delivering a compassionate notification challenging. Our pilot data suggests that communicating a death notification alone and with limited resources to support the bereaved increases the stress of this task for paramedics. Further research is required in order to identify the factors that lead to increased stress and to develop support strategies for paramedics.

Abstract

Communicating a death notification is one of the most stressful experiences that paramedics will encounter. The objective of this pilot study was to explore paramedics’ training and experiences with death notification in the field

Methods

An online survey was completed by a convenience sample of six paramedics. Close-ended questions incorporated respondent demographics and a Likert rating scale was used to determine the paramedics’ confidence with communicating death notifications. An open-ended narrative question asked respondents about their experiences with communicating death notifications. The narratives were analysed using the method of meaning condensation.

Results

All participants completed the survey. The mean age was 28.3 years. All the participants had communicated at least one death notification. The factors that appear to increase the stress of a death notification include: being alone, a delay in discovering the deceased, sudden, traumatic deaths, and young age of the patient. Paramedics find balancing patient care and delivering a compassionate notification challenging. They are often exposed to situations in which they feel obligated to continue care and where policies may prevent them from meeting the needs of the bereaved. This can increase the stress on the paramedic and may impact the grieving process for the bereaved.

Conclusion

Our pilot data suggests that communicating a death notification alone and with limited resources to support the bereaved increases the stress of this task for paramedics. Further research is required in order to identify the factors that lead to increased stress and to develop support strategies for paramedics.

Funding Sources

Special thanks to the Ontario Paramedic Research Consortium for providing funding for this research