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Facilitating day-to-day decision making in palliative care
J L Bottorff1, R Steele, B Davies
1School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Canada.
Cancer Nursing
|April 14, 2000
Summary
Nurses can empower palliative care patients by supporting their everyday choices. Understanding nurses
Area of Science:
- Palliative Care Nursing
- Patient Autonomy
- Grounded Theory
Background:
- Palliative care patients often face challenges in making everyday choices.
- Patient participation in care decisions is crucial for quality of life.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how nurses support or restrict palliative care patients' participation in everyday choices.
- To describe nurses' strategies influencing patient decision-making.
Main Methods:
- Secondary analysis of a grounded theory study.
- Constant comparative methods used with field notes and interview transcripts.
- Data collected from observations and interviews in palliative care units.
Main Results:
- Nurses' supportive strategies involve a four-phase process: knowing the patient, enhancing opportunities, being open to choice, and respecting choice.
- Identified factors that influence nurses' supportive and restrictive behaviors.
- Patient-centered care significantly impacts their quality of life.
Conclusions:
- Nurses' supportive strategies are vital for enhancing patient participation in palliative care.
- Findings provide a basis for developing nursing interventions to improve patient quality of life.
- Respecting patient choices is paramount in palliative care settings.