Nurses' effort for providing end-of-life care in paediatric oncology: a phenomenological study

Abstract

Background: Many children with cancer are hospitalised before the end of life and need special care. To improve the delivery of care for children, it is necessary to understand the insights, emotions and feelings of nurses. Aim: This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of nurses providing end-of-life care for children with cancer. Methods: A phenomenological hermeneutic approach was used to analyse the experience of 14 oncology nurses working in a children's hospital who were caring for children with cancer. Findings: Three themes and seven subthemes emerged from the analysis. The three main themes were: pain management (relieving physical pain and reducing the mental pain of the child and family); respect-based care (for the values and beliefs of the child and family and honesty in providing information to them); and negative reflections of care (psychological trauma, cultural challenges and futile care). Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that, despite the problems experienced by the nurses, they were still trying to provide life-sustaining care for children with cancer.