Caring at the end of life: Iranian nurses’ view and experiences

Abstract

Nurses play a principal role in the caring for dying persons and their families. The nurses’ working organization and socialcontext may influence formation of their values and beliefs towards death and dying as well as their approach to thepersons who are dying. This study thus conducted to examine nurses’ view and describe their experiences regarding end oflife care. A mixed method research was conducted to describe Iranian nurses’ attitudes as well as their experiences in thefield of end of life care. FATCOD questionnaire was used to examine 55 oncology nurses’ attitudes towards caring fordying persons. Of these, 23 participated in qualitative part of study. In depth individual, audio-taped interviews wereconducted. A latent content analysis approach also was used to explore nurses’ experiences of caring for dying persons.The results showed a moderate positive attitude towards giving care to the people who are dying among the participants.They had no tendency to accept patients and their families as in charge decision makers or involve them in the care.Qualitative findings revealed two themes including: rewarding and disappointing experiences. The lack of palliative careunits and its education as well as some cultural and professional limitations may have contributed to the formation ofbarriers and negative attitude towards some aspects of the care among nurses working with dying people in the Iraniancontext. Therefore, establishment of palliative care unit, incorporation of palliative care into undergraduate nursingstudies, and cultural preparation through public education can improve quality of care at the end of life.