Supportive interventions and their impact on pediatric health care professionals’ emotional well-being: A systematic literature review

Abstract

The aim of this systematic literature review was to describe interventions supporting pediatric health care professionals to manage emotional strain when caring for children at the end-of-life. The review included five quantitative studies. Two categories were identified within the results: 1) Supportive interventions with the subcategories of educational interventions, peer support for grief, intensive training course, peer supported storytelling, and debriefing sessions; and 2) Effects of interventions, with the subcategories of increased understanding, increased confidence, creating meaning, grief management, and sense of well-being. Interventions that combine education and dialogue seem supportive, but debriefing might have the most impact on health care professionals’ emotional well-being. Future research should focus on deepening the understanding of the meaning of education and dialogue for health care professionals, further investigate the effects of debriefing, and focus on educational training around existential issues.