Palliative home care nursing: nurses' perceptions of roles and stress

This exploratory study investigated perceptions of palliative home care nurses regarding their roles. Results are based on structured interviews with all ten nurses providing care in a home care program for dying patients. Most nurses agree that nursing the terminally ill is a distinctive kind of nursing, requiring particular capabilities, and providing its own unique frustrations and satisfactions. While nurses experienced stress, especially the nurses who had spent a shorter period of time working for the program, they had a variety of ways to cope with stress. Suggestions for hospice program planning and future research are presented.