Abstract
[Purpose] To clarify the challenges that nurses face in practicing terminal care in geriatric health service facilities (GHSF).
[Methods] 1) Participant: One nurse manager and one nurse from each of the six institutions from O Prefecture participated in the study. 2) Period: February 2015 to May 2015. 3) Analysis Method: We conducted an interview with each subject for approximately 40 minutes using a semi-structured questionnaire, and analysis was subsequently performed using qualitative synthesis (KJ method).
[Results] Seven symbol marks were extracted as follows: "Limitations of medical treatment and anxiety about drug use", "Challenges in determinations related to state change or gastrostomy", "Challenges concerning coexistence of life and death in multi-bed room", "Challenges in judging anxiety of nursing care staff and labor burden of staff member", "Challenges in building non-regrettable terminal care with family", "Quality assurance of terminal care through multidisciplinary consultation and accumulated experience", and "Natural caregiving leading to a sense of satisfaction and gratification".
[Discussion] Nurses are required to utilize relationship building function among the multidisciplinary team, create an environment for education, and in particular, create awareness of terminal care in day-to-day-care among care workers.
