Erfarenheter av att vårda patienter i livets slutskede : En litteraturöversikt ur sjuksköterskans perspektiv

Background: Palliative care at the end of life means that patients’ treatment has shifted from life-prolonging to alleviating. It’s based on maintaining patients’ autonomy and integrity by ensuring their emotional, physical, social and spiritual needs are met. Despite this, patients and their relatives experience that they do not always receive the help they need. Aim: Create and overview of nurses’ experiences of caring for patients at the end of life. Method: A general literature review according to Friberg and eleven articles of qualitative and quantitative approach were included. Results: Four themes were identified. Nurses experienced a lack of knowledge about end-of-life care. Prerequisites, such as time, continuity and cooperation, for good care at the end of life are lacking. The importance of a good relationships and the importance of good communication were two parts that were seen as important in promoting good care at the end of life. Conclusion: Good education on a basic level contributes to increased knowledge and competence in end-of-life care, which can prevent insecure nurses and negative experiences among patients and relatives. Good communication improves the quality of care in the final stages of life, which increases the well-being of patients and their relatives. This, in turn, increases the chances that good and trustful relationships can be created.