2021 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 1-8
Sedation therapy is frequently employed for the holistic care of pain in terminal cancer patients admitted to palliative care hospitals. To establish approaches for providing high-quality palliative care, this study aimed to clarify the nursing practices in palliative care unit for end-stage cancer patients and their families in terms of sedation practice. A semi-structured interview was conducted for 16 nurses in 3 palliative care units. The data obtained were labeled and symbolized using the qualitative integration method. The average age of the subjects was 38.4 ± 9.1 years, the average number of years of clinical experience was 16.7 ± 8.1 years, and the average number of years of work experience in the palliative care unit was 3.6 ± 2.7 years. The analyses revealed six symbol marks: listening to the patient's thoughts; helping patient/family to make a decision regarding sedation; adjusting the dosage of medication; understanding the patient's condition and predicting the potential risks; provision of palliative care based on the patient's condition; and the chosen approach toward the family members of a patient in the last stage of life. The nursing practices in the palliative care unit requires intervention to improve the patients' well-being as well as induce a sense of security among the family members, who stand by and care for them until the end, based on the understanding that sedation is an important palliative care intervention in terminal care.
