Palliative care nurses’ perspectives on peer support in China: A qualitative study

Emotional, informational, and clinical skills support from peers can help palliative care nurses cope with emotional and ethical stress in the face of death, thus enhancing their professional resilience, improving emotional well-being, and increasing patients' satisfaction with care. However, in establishing peer support programs, structural and cultural factors should be taken into account, such as heavy workloads, hierarchical differences, attitudes toward death, and expression of emotion. Government should increase palliative care funding, and work with health authorities to improve nurses' welfare, and prioritize their mental health.