Aims, actions and advance care planning by district nurses providing palliative care : an ethnographic observational study

Walshe, Catherine (2020) Aims, actions and advance care planning by district nurses providing palliative care : an ethnographic observational study. British Journal of Community Nursing, 25 (6). pp. 276-286. ISSN 1462-4753

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Abstract

District nurses are core providers of palliative care, yet little is known about the way that they provide care to people at home. This study aimed to investigate the role and practice of the district nurse in palliative care provision. This was an ethnographic study, with non-participant observation of district nurse-palliative care patient encounters, and post-observation interviews. District nurse teams from three geographical areas in northwest England participated. Data were analysed iteratively, facilitated by the use of NVivo, using techniques of constant comparison. Some 17 encounters were observed, with 23 post-observation interviews (11 with district nurses, 12 with patients/carers). Core themes were ‘planning for the future’ and ‘caring in the moment’. District nurses described how they provided and planned future care, but observations showed that this care focused on physical symptom management. District nurses engaged in friendly relationship building, which allows detailed management of symptomatology, but with little evidence of advance care planning.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
British Journal of Community Nursing
Additional Information:
This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in British Journal of Community Nursing, copyright © MA Healthcare, after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.12968/bjcn.2020.25.6.276.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700
Subjects:
?? medicine(all)community and home care ??
ID Code:
139596
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
12 Dec 2019 09:05
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
17 Dec 2023 01:46