Characteristics of Nurses' Activities in Support of Elderly People who Spent Their End-of-life Period in the Community Using a Small-sized Multifunctional in Home Care / 日本プライマリ・ケア連合学会誌

ABSTRACT

Introduction: We aimed to clarify the characteristics of the activities of nurses who provide end-of-life care to users of small-sized multifunctional in-home care services (SMICS) and consider effective end-of-life care for elderly persons who use SMICS.Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 nurses who belonged to SMICSs, and the results were analyzed qualitatively and inductively.Results: The nurses provided four core categories of support "support so that the elderly person and their family can spend a better end-of-life period together while maintaining their everyday lifestyle," "support so that the family and care staff can deal with the elderly person's dying process," "support so that the elderly person or their family can clarify where and how they want to spend their end-of-life and fulfillment of their wishes," and "provision of medical care suitable for the wishes of the elderly person or their family and disease conditions." Conclusion: The results indicated that nurses supported the elderly and their families by clarifying the care they desire and to support the elderly person, their family, and those who assist them in daily living. In addition, nurses should help not only toward maintenance of daily living but also adapt the medical system so that the elderly person can spend their end-of-life period in a familiar place.