Where We Have Been and Where We Are in End-of-Life Care for Newborns

Purpose: Neonatal End of Life Care studies began in the 1990's and continues until today. Catlin has conducted 11 studies in this area and will summarize her work in a state of the science. What evidence based knowledge is known in neonatal end of life care will be presented, and which areas are still in need of development by nursing scholars will be explicated.

Methods: A synthesis of 11 studies of varying methodology (survey, Delphi, chart review, on line questionnaires, case study, interviews, national data set, and hybrid concept analysis) will be presented. The needs of parents, nurses, and physicians involved in end of life care therapies for newborns will be addressed. What occurs when palliative care is not the chosen manner of care for a dying newborn and how to address the resulting moral distress of perinatal nurses will be delineated. 

Results: When a successful palliative care program for neonates exists, families and caregivers experience satisfaction when a newborn dies surrounded by those who love him in a peaceful and loving setting.

Conclusion: In the United States we have made considerable progress in providing dignified and peaceful end of life experiences for neonates and their families. For those attendees with ongoing barriers to this program, empirically based solutions will be presented.