Palliative Care Nurses’Experiences and Perceptions of Dignified Death: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

AIM: This study aimed to explore palliative care nurses’ experiences and perceptions of dignified death in terminally ill patients with cancer. METHODS: This qualitative descriptive study included 19 nurses working in oncology and anesthesia palliative care units of University of Health Sciences, İzmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital in Türkiye. Data were collected through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews, audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis, with MAXQDA 20 used for data management and coding. RESULTS: Seven themes emerged: conceptualizing dignified death; patient and family expectations during the terminal stage; physiological care at the end of life; rights of the dying person; palliative sedation and dignified death; talking about death with terminally ill cancer patients; and post-death care and approach to families. Nurses primarily associated dignified death with physical comfort, symptom relief, and respectful care, while also emphasizing family presence, spiritual and cultural needs, autonomy, and privacy. Difficulties were reported in discussing death directly with patients and managing families’ expectations of recovery or aggressive treatment. Palliative sedation was generally perceived as supporting dignified death by relieving intolerable suffering, although uncertainty regarding its appropriate use was reported. Post-death care was viewed as an extension of dignity, emphasizing hygiene, privacy, bodily integrity, and respect for cultural and religious practices. CONCLUSION: Dignified death was perceived as a multidimensional process encompassing comfort, autonomy, communication, family support, and respectful care. Structured education and clearer institutional guidance on end-of-life communication, ethical decision-making, and palliative sedation may strengthen dignity-oriented, patient-centered care. Cite this article as: Düzgün, G., Turan, K., Polat, G., Kelekçibaşı, E., & Ünsal Avdal, E. (2026). Palliative care nurses’ experiences and perceptions of dignified death: A qualitative descriptive study. Florence Nightingale Journal of Nursing, 34, 0186, doi:10.5152/FNJN.2026.26186.