The aim of the present study was to investigate the significance of death from the perspective of nurses and physicians in a pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Four nurses and four physicians, who had been working in the pediatric Intensive Care Unit of a hospital in Rio Grande do Sul for at least six months, participated in this study. A semi-structured interview with a pre-determined set of open questions was conducted. Data were analyzed using content analysis leading to the following two categories: "Death as failure" and "Death concealed". The results show that death was typically seen as failure. Moreover, death was also usually hidden, denied, or even trivialized. The participants used several resources in trying to conceal it. However, it is understood that the psychic development itself is best strategy to deal with such a complex context. Therefore, educational and therapeutic approaches that help professionals to achieve psychic development should be adopted.
Death; Pediatrics; Psychology; Intensive Care Unit