Relationship between grief and coping strategies among nurses dealing with patient deaths: a descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational study

Abstract Background Nurses often face significant emotional distress and grief when dealing with patient deaths, especially in acute hospital settings. Despite extensive literature offering guidance on nursing practices for providing optimal care to terminally ill patients and their grieving families, there is a scarcity of empirical research examining nurses’ experiences of grief following patient deaths in Middle Eastern contexts. This study aimed to assess the relationship between grief and coping strategies among nurses experiencing patient death in an acute hospital in Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey distributed to nurses at King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital in Jeddah. Data from 382 nurses were analyzed using SPSS software. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, Pearson’s chi-square test, Student’s t-test, one-way ANOVA, and regression analysis were employed to examine the associations between grief levels, coping strategies, and various socio-demographic and professional characteristics. Results Among the participants, 80% were aged 25–40 years, and 50% were married. Most nurses (85.4%) reported normal levels of grief. Coping strategies’ mean scores ranged from 2.60 to 5.52. Grief levels showed significant correlations with nationality, received support, and intervention type. Nurses with high or severe grief levels had significantly higher mean scores for problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping strategies (p < 0.001). A significant positive linear correlation was found between total coping scores and total grief scores. Regression analysis indicated that 21.3% of the variance in total coping scores was explained by total grief scores. Conclusions The study highlights that while nurses employ personal coping strategies, there is a need for additional, culturally tailored support to manage grief effectively. Implementing structured support systems may enhance nurses’ coping mechanisms and overall well-being when facing patient deaths.