Nurses' Experience of Hospice Palliative Care for an Elderly Patient with Colon Cancer in the Terminal Stage.

Background • Hospice palliative care is used as a last resort to relieve the clinical symptoms of elderly colon cancer patients. The nurse is a key participant in the overall care process. However, little is known about hospice palliative care from a nursing perspective. Aim • To explore hospice palliative care and nurses’ experiences of clinical care for people with colon cancer in the terminal stage. To identify the challenges, facilitators and practice areas requiring further support. Chinese society has traditionally held a taboo attitude towards death, which leads to a relatively low acceptance of the concept of hospice care among the public. After this study and discussion, the public can more truly understand hospice care and improve the acceptance degree. Method • Summarizes the practical experience of nursing hospice care for an elderly patient with advanced colon cancer. This study used a mixed methodology, including semi-structured interviews, live observations, and case studies. The combination of these methodologies provides a multi-dimensional understanding framework for research, enables researchers to deeply explore the specific situations and challenges nurses encounter in clinical care Conclusion • The key points of nursing include concerning on the terminal stage patient and his family, adopting a multidisciplinary collaborative model to manage pain and other symptoms, providing comfort care, and offering psychological, spiritual, and social support. Guided by the theory of “holistic care” and “psychological care” under the hospice palliative care, the patient’s spiritual needs were assessed based on which spiritual care was given for a good end, a good farewell, and a good life. In addition, we specifically focused on the following challenges and facilitators: professional staff shortage: the insufficient number of professional nurses in the hospice care field, affecting the quality of care. Facilitating ators: Multidisciplinary teamwork: collaboration between team members greatly improves the patient’s overall care experience. To effectively respond to these challenges and leverage facilitators, intensive communication training is recommended: through training to improve nurses’ communication skills and ensure effective communication with patients and their families. Through these measures, the overall quality of hospice services can be significantly improved and patients and their families can achieve a better care experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]