Abstract
BackgroundOne of the strategies to promote the quality of palliative care in non-specialised settings is the appointment of palliative care nurse champions. It is unclear what the most effective model to implement the concept of nurse champions is and little is known about palliative care nurse champions’ own views on their role and responsibilities. This paper aims to describe views of palliative care nurse champions in hospitals and home care on their role, responsibilities and added value.MethodsIn 2018, a qualitative interview study was conducted with 16 palliative care nurse champions in two hospitals and four home care organisations in the southwest of the Netherlands. The framework approach was used to analyse the data.ResultsMost palliative care nurse champions described their role by explaining concrete tasks or activities. Most nurse champions perceive their main task as disseminating information about palliative care to colleagues. A few nurses mentioned activities aimed at raising awareness of palliative care among colleagues. Most nurses were to a limited extent involved in collaboration with the palliative care expert team. Hospital nurse champions suggested that more support from the palliative care expert team would be helpful. Most nurse champions feel little responsibility for organisational tasks and inter-organisational collaboration. Especially hospital nurses found it difficult to describe their role.ConclusionThe role of palliative care nurse champions in hospital and home care varies a lot and nurses have diverging views on palliative care in these settings. Comprehensively fulfilling the role of palliative care nurse champion is a challenge. Careful selection, training, support and task descriptions for nurse champions are needed to make the concept of nurse champions work in palliative care.
Highlights
One of the strategies to promote the quality of palliative care in non-specialised settings is the appointment of palliative care nurse champions
Several authors state that the role of palliative care nurse champion in both care settings needs more clarification, including in what phase in the illness trajectory and for what reasons they should be involved in patient care, and what their role is in relation to the palliative care expert team [1, 21]
Activities and responsibilities in patient care in a nonspecialised care setting When they were asked about their role as palliative care nurse champion, hospital nurses reported varying numbers of patients who need palliative care in their ward
Summary
One of the strategies to promote the quality of palliative care in non-specialised settings is the appointment of palliative care nurse champions It is unclear what the most effective model to implement the concept of nurse champions is and little is known about palliative care nurse champions’ own views on their role and responsibilities. One of the strategies to promote the quality of palliative care in non-specialised settings is the appointment of palliative care nurse champions [1,2,3,4,5]. Whereas the majority of patients with an advanced incurable illness are at least once transferred between different care settings [22], palliative care nurse champions may play an important role in promoting adequate transfers and inter-organisational collaboration [23,24,25,26]
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