När äldres liv tar slut : Sjuksköterskors upplevelser av att arbeta inom palliativ vård av äldre

Sammanfattning: Background: Palliative care is required for patients who have no chance of curative treatment. The age group 65 and older is a growing population. Palliative care for the elderly was uniquely challenging and differed from palliative care for younger patients. Palliative care for the elderly was not about prolonging life, it was about making the last phase of life as comfortable as possible. Aim: The aim was to describe nurses’ experiences of working with palliative care of the elderly. Method: A literature-basedstudy was conducted. Seven articles were analyzed according to Friberg’s five-stepmodel. Results: Three main themes emerged: feelings of insufficiency, working with aperson-centered approach and collegial cooperation. Seven sub-themes were identified: insufficiency in supporting relatives, insufficiency in giving satisfactory palliative care, a caring relationship, working for the patient’s best interest, the nurse’s need of support, lack of cooperation with physician and the nurse’s supportive role. Conclusion: when nurses were caring for the dying elderly, nurses were in need of more support.