Notification of brain death in an intensive care unit: a descriptive study

ABSTRACT

This study will address the issue of brain death (BD) in an Intensive Care Unit and is linked to the Master's program in Professional Nursing Care of Fluminense Federal University. Objectives: To identify the knowledge of nurses in an intensive care unit regarding the notification process of brain death; to describe the facilities and difficulties encountered by nurses in the process of notification of BD and; to discuss the process of notification of BD and its implications for the donation and capturing of organs. Method: This is a descriptive study, in which we shall use a qualitative approach. The study setting is the intensive care unit of a public hospital, a large scale notifier, located in Niterói. The subjects are nurses employed within the sector.