"Doing good care" - A study of palliative home nursing care

Abstract

Today, more and more people die in own homes and nursing homes, which fundamentally affects community nursing. The aim of this study was to develop a classic grounded theory of palliative home nursing care and we analysed interviews and data related to the behavior of community nurses caring for palliative cancer patients. Doing Good Care emerged as the pattern of behavior through which nurses deal with their main concern, their desire to do good. The theory Doing Good Care involves three caring behaviors; Anticipatory caring, Momentary caring and Stagnated caring. In Anticipatory caring, which is the optimal caring behavior, nurses are doing their best or even better than necessary, in Momentary caring nurses are doing best momentarily and in Stagnated caring nurses are doing good but from the perspective of what is expected of them. When nurses fail in doing good, they experience a feeling of letting the patient down, which can lead to frustration and feelings of powerlessness. Depending on the circumstances, nurses can hover between the three different caring behaviors. We suggest that healthcare providers increase the status of palliative care and facilitate for nurses to give Anticipatory care by providing adequate resources and recognition. © 2007 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved.