Home care nurses' provision of support to families of the elderly at the end of life

Qual Health Res. 2011 Feb;21(2):199-213. doi: 10.1177/1049732310383866. Epub 2010 Sep 17.

Abstract

In this article we describe our study of assistance for family decisions and caregiving by Japanese home care nurses to families of elderly relatives at the end of life. The participants were 31 nurses who had been evaluated as providing good end-of-life care. We carried out semistructured interviews concerning the practice of family support in two cases (cancer and noncancer). We conducted a qualitative analysis using the constant comparative approach and derived several categories inductively. Home care nurses are responsible for (a) estimating the possibility of dying at home, (b) visualizing what is coming and what can be done, (c) proposing where and how the family can say goodbye, (d) building family consensus, (e) coordinating resources, and (f) offering psychological support for end-of-life care. End-of-life family care by home care nurses is a process in which multiple components of care are provided with changing content as death approaches.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Psychological
  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Caregivers / psychology*
  • Decision Making*
  • Empathy
  • Family Nursing / methods*
  • Family Nursing / psychology
  • Female
  • Geriatric Assessment
  • Home Nursing / methods*
  • Home Nursing / psychology
  • Humans
  • Interview, Psychological
  • Japan
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Palliative Care / methods*
  • Palliative Care / psychology
  • Qualitative Research
  • Social Support
  • Stress, Psychological