Sjuksköterskors upplevelser av palliativ vård i livets slutskede

: En litteraturstudie

Abstract

Background: Annually, over 55 million people worldwide require palliative care. This study explores nurses' experiences in providing end-of-life care to these patients. Delivering end-of-life care is a complex task, and palliative care, initially designed for cancerpatients, has expanded to various illnesses. WHO and the National Board of Health and Welfare emphasize the need for a person-centered approach, identifying four fundamental pillars: symptomrelief, teamwork, communication and relationships, and support for relatives. Aim: To describe nurses' experiences of providing palliative care to patients at the end of life. Method: Using an inductive approach and qualitative literature review, existing articles are examined and compiled to enhance understanding of nurses' perspectives in palliative care. Searches were conducted in Cinahl Complete, Psycinfo, and PubMed. Articles were reviewed and selected based on quality criteria, with analysis conducted following Friberg's five-step model. Ethical considerations were taken into account, and pre-understanding was employed to ensure objectivity in the analysis process. Results: Two main categories with a total of five subcategories were identified. 1-Experiences of Workenvironment and Teamwork 1.1-The Significance of Teamwork and Leadership, 1.2-Experiences of Time Constraints, 2-Experiences of Emotional Nature and Reflection, 2.1-Emotional Experiences and Reflections among Nurses, 2.2-Experiences as Death Approaches and Death Itself 2.3-Experiences of Being the Patient's Safehaven. Discussion: Quality was assessed based on reliability, dependability, confirmability, and transferability. Two findings were discussed: experiences of timeconstraints and Nurses as Advocates for Patient Autonomy. To maintain person-centered, high-quality care, leadership should address time constraints. In a well-functioning team, nurses find it easier to advocate for patient autonomy.

Date of Award	2023-Dec
Original language	Swedish
Supervisor	Anna Nilsson (Supervisor) & Erik Piculell (Examiner)