Barriers in Nurses’ Work to Provide Quality Palliative Care : A Qualitative Literature Review on Challenges and Responsibilities

Background: Palliative care aims to alleviate suffering and promote quality of life for terminally ill patients. To achieve this, it is important that palliative care is provided with a holistic approach and that nurses are aware of the potential challenges and obstacles they might face in their practice. Aim: This study aims to identify obstacles that hinder nurses from providing quality care to patients in palliative settings. Method: This study employed a qualitative, literature-based approach, analyzing scientific articles to gain an overview of published research in the chosen field. Twelve articles were included, and their content was analyzed using Friberg's multi-step content analysis method to identify themes and subthemes. Results: Two main themes were identified: Structural and organizational barriers and Social and cultural barriers. Structural barriers included lack of training, lack of resources and highworkload, and were found to negatively affect the nurse´s ability to develop professionally and provide quality care. Social barriers included emotional fatigue, language barriers and cultural differences, which made communication and relationship-building with patients and their relatives more difficult. Conclusion: Improving palliative care requires increased training and resources for nurses, as well as improved communication and collaboration within the care team. If these barriers are addressed, nurses will be able to provide a higher quality of care, in turn reducing unnecessary suffering and improving quality of life for terminally ill patients.