Exploring the Challenges Experienced by Palliative Care Nurses in Caring for Terminally Ill Cancer Patients in Saudi Arabia: Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND: Palliative care (PC) nurses face numerous challenges that have not been adequately studied. Research in this field is scarce in Saudi Arabia. It is necessary to investigate the challenges PC nurses face in the country’s private hospitals. AIM: The aim of this study was to explore PC nurses’ challenges when caring for patients at a private hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive study was followed. Seven PC nurses were selected through purposive and snowball sampling. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews, and themes and subthemes were identified with qualitative thematic analysis. RESULTS: The following three themes emerged: (1) personal challenges (emotional demands); (2) communication challenges (breaking bad news to patients with cancer and language barriers); and (3) work environment challenges (delays in physicians’ orders, a lack of respect from patients and their families, perceptions of contracting cancer, pregnant nurses’ concerns, and staffing). CONCLUSION: PC nurses experience numerous challenges, including personal, communication, and work environment challenges, that may negatively affect the care they provide to patients with cancer. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Understanding the challenges nurses face could help hospital administrators adopt innovative measures to resolve them and implement evidence-based interventions. Identifying and understanding nurses’ challenges could help hospital administrators adopt innovative measures and improve the care of patients with cancer. Emotional stress, work demands, and communication struggle among PC nurses in Saudi Arabia negatively hindered the provided care to PC patients and family caregivers. The study supports the implementation of interventions based on evidence-based information.