Intensive Care Nurses’ Experiences of Caring during the Organ Donor Process in Sweden : a Qualitative Study

Background: The organ donor process is challenging, not at least for intensive care nurses. The situation changes radically, from intensively working to save the patient’s life to instead caring for the donor patient’s organs so that those, in turn, can save another patient’s life. The donation process challenges nurses’ view on what dignified caring at end-of-life entails. The inner core of caring comprises love, mercy and compassion. Dignified caring is related to treating the patient as a unique human being and respecting human value, rooted in the theory of caritative caring that is the framework for this study.   Aim: The aim was to illuminate intensive care nurses’ experiences of caring during the organ donor process, from a caring science perspective.Methodology: A descriptive research design including inductive qualitative content analysis of interviews with twelve intensive care nurses in Sweden about their experiences of caring during the donor process.Results: The theme The complexity of caring during the organ donor process with two categories and five subcategories was generated. Intensive care nurses experienced caring during the donor process as being complex in relation to the potential donor patient and patient’s family as well as communication, teamwork and organization. Caring affects not only the patient and families, but also the nurses and receivers of the donated organs. Intensive care nurses perceive the other’s life situation as if it were their own and recognize the importance of shared humanity.</p

Association between parental depressive symptoms and impaired bonding with the infant

Impaired bonding with the infant is associated with maternal postpartum depression but has not been investigated extensively in fathers. The primary study aim was to evaluate associations between maternal and paternal depressive symptoms and impaired bonding with their infant. A secondary aim was to determine the associations between parents’ marital problems and impaired bonding with the infant. The study is part of a population-based cohort project (UPPSAT) in Uppsala, Sweden. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum and the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire at 6 months postpartum were completed by 727 couples. The prevalence of impaired bonding was highest among couples in which both spouses had depressive symptoms. Impaired bonding was associated with higher EPDS scores in both mothers and fathers, as well as with experiencing a deteriorated marital relationship. The association between maternal and paternal impaired bonding and the mothers’ and fathers’ EPDS scores remained significant even after adjustment for relevant confounding factors. Depressive symptoms at 6 weeks postpartum are associated with impaired bonding with the infant at 6 months postpartum for both mothers and fathers. It is critical to screen for and prevent depressive symptoms in both parents during early parenthood.</p

Impacted family equality, self‐confidence and loneliness: a cross‐sectional study of first‐time and multi‐time fathers’ satisfaction with prenatal and postnatal father groups in Sweden

Background Fathers often feel secondary or invisible in traditional parent groups. Gender-specific parent groups, referred to as father groups, may be inclusive spaces for fathers to discuss their transition into parenthood. Objective To quantitatively assess fathers' perceptions and satisfaction of father groups in Sweden during the prenatal and postnatal periods. Method A cross-sectional quantitative study design was used to report fathers' satisfaction of father groups, including how the groups impacted their personal outcomes, as well as their relationship with their partner and child. Further analyses were completed on if their depressive symptoms, via EPDS, and/or parity affected their satisfaction and personal outcomes. Setting and participants Fathers were recruited through father group leaders, who then provided the researchers with their contact information. In total, 87 fathers were contacted via email and 67 fathers from two geographical areas, including urban and suburban settings, completed the survey. Findings Most fathers had a university education, a good household economy and were married/cohabiting, while almost 60% were first-time fathers and almost 25% had depressive symptoms. Overall, fathers were generally satisfied with both the prenatal and postnatal father groups, although fathers attended prenatal father groups to a lesser extent. The participants rated the father groups as moderately impacting their equality in the family, self-confidence, feelings of loneliness, social network and being able to express their own opinions, as well as positively affected their relationship with their partner and child, respectively. While there were no differences based on fathers' parity, those who self-estimated depressive symptoms were less satisfied and rated the father groups less impactfully. Father groups may help encourage fathers to meet policy goals, such as childrearing equality, and can be an important arena for screening fathers for depression.</p