Vid livets slut - Sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att vårda patienter med demens i ett palliativt skede : En litteraturstudie

Sammanfattning: Background: Caring for patients with dementia at the end of life can be challenging because of the complex nature of the disease. In the later stages of dementia, the patient loses many cognitive functions like communicative skills which leads to difficulties in understanding the patients’ symptoms and needs. Due to these communicative challenges, pain management can be a challenge for the nurse to manage as well. Nurses have the primary responsibility in the care of these patients which is why it is valuable to understand the nurses’ experience of caring for patients with dementia in palliative care. Aim: To describe nurses experience of caring for patients with dementia in palliative care. Method: The study was a literature study with a qualitative approach. Nine scientific articles were chosen from the databases Cinahl and PubMed. The articles were analyzed using Friberg’s five step analysis model. Results: Four major themes were identified during the analysis: Challenging to read and inter-pret non- verbal communication; Challenging to relieve suffering; Relatives both an asset and a challenge and The structure of the organization affected the possibility of good care. Conclusion: The nurses experienced challenges in understanding the patients’ needs because of the patients’ lack of verbal communication, which is why the nurses used their observational skills to read the patients’ non-verbal signs. The nurses felt that there was a need for more training and education for the health care professionals in general to be able to provide a good care to the patients. The relatives of the patients were an asset in understanding the person behind the disease.