Psychological outcomes of debriefing healthcare providers who experience expected and unexpected patient death in clinical or simulation experiences: A scoping review

Aims and objectives To synthesise and map the literature on the psychological outcomes reported following debriefing of healthcare providers who experience expected and unexpected patient death in either clinical practice or simulation setting. Background Patient death occurs in both the clinical and simulation environments and can result in psychological stress in healthcare providers and students. While debriefing following patient death has demonstrated the ability to promote positive psychological outcomes, addressing the psychological or emotional stress of the event is inconsistently addressed. Design A scoping review was conducted using the Arksey and O'Malley framework. Method The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, JBI and Scopus databases were searched with English language constraints and no limit on publication date. The Scoping Reviews (PRISMA‐ScR) Checklist was used (Annals of Internal Medicine, 2018, 169, 467) (see Appendix S1). Results Eighteen articles (16 research papers and 2 review papers) met the inclusion criteria. Of the 16 research papers, 9 reported on debriefing models in the simulation environment and 7 in the clinical setting. The types of debriefing models found in the simulation setting tended to focus on healthcare providers' learning, while those in the clinical setting typically focused on healthcare providers' emotional reactions and resulted in positive psychological effects. Conclusion Debriefing has the potential to positively affect psychological outcomes of healthcare providers who experience patient death. The type of debriefing that is selected is a key component to achieving these positive outcomes. Relevance to Clinical Practice This scoping review identified the debriefing frameworks used in both simulation and clinical environments following patient death events, and any associated psychological outcomes. There is a need for debriefing to occur after each death in either environment; however, there is a lack of evidence‐based debriefing frameworks that can be used in both the clinical and simulation environments to promote positive psychological outcomes.