Abstract
AimTo explore assistant nurses' experiences and perceptions of both positive and negative aspects of providing palliative care for older people in residential care facilities.DesignA qualitative explorative study.MethodsCritical incidents were collected through semi‐structured face‐to‐face interviews and analysed by performing a qualitative content analysis.ResultsA total of 40 critical incidents from daily work was described by assistant nurses. The results showed that close cooperation between unlicensed and licensed professionals was crucial to provide good care but was sometimes negatively affected by the organizational structure. The availability of professionals was identified as a critical factor in providing good care at the end of life in a consultative organization. The most prominent findings were those that indicated that, especially in a consultative organization, there seems to be a need for clear roles, comprehensive and clear care plans and a solid support structure to ensure continuity of care.
Highlights
In the Western world, the need for palliative care for older people is currently increasing due to the ageing population living with chronic illnesses (World Health Organization [WHO] 2011)
The analysis showed that either the organization or the environment was optimally designed for a given level of high-quality palliative care despite the large number of older persons who die in residential care facilities (RCFs)
This study showed that assistant nurses (ANs) working in today’s RCFs have a prominent function and role in providing palliative care at the end of life of an older person
Summary
In the Western world, the need for palliative care for older people is currently increasing due to the ageing population living with chronic illnesses (World Health Organization [WHO] 2011). The number of older people with frail health in need of palliative care either in their home or in residential care facilities (RCFs) is rising (Abarshi et al, 2009; Penders, van der Block, Donker, Deliens, & Onwuteaka- Philpsen, 2015). This need places huge demands on healthcare organizations and on each care provider. The World Health Organization has called for initiatives to improve palliative care for older people (2011)
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