Multidisciplinary Collaboration by Home Care Nurses in end-of-life Care at Home−Comparison of the Perceptions of Home Care Nurses and Families−

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to clarify actual multidisciplinary collaboration that home care nurses perform in end-of-life care at home and that perceived by primary family caregivers.

Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with seven primary family caregivers in a case involving end-of-life care conducted in a multidisciplinary collaboration with eight home care nurses in charge of the case. The interviews were analyzed and discussed qualitatively and descriptively.

Results: The primary family caregivers recognized the following three activities: “reporting, confirming, and consulting with the doctor,” “connecting the patient to the most patient-appropriate home care support service,” and “providing information about the patient’s condition.” Five results were obtained for home care nurses, three of which were common with primary family caregivers; the remaining two that were different were: “clarifying the patient and family’s intentions and communicating the future direction to other professionals” and “deciding the direction of care among the parties concerned, including the family.”

Conclusions: Home care nurses should inform and explain the content of multidisciplinary collaboration to the families in advance. When they think about the direction of care together, families feel more satisfied and realize that they are collaborating to support the patient.