Palliative Care Roles of Nurses in Primary Care Units of Health Region 11

Main Article Content

Oraphan Khongsrichay
Naiyana Noonil
Urai Jaraeprapal

Abstract

This descriptive study aimed to explore nurses’ roles in the care of palliative patients at the primary units. It was a part of the Thailand Nursing and Midwifery Council Research Project, entitled “Roles and Responsibilities of Nurses in Driving Primary Health Care Systems.” Multi-stage sampling was used to select 33 nurses who worked in palliative care at the primary units of Health Region 11. The study instruments consisted of the Nursing Roles in Palliative Care Questionnaire, the Interview Guide of Palliative Care Process, and the Interview Guide of Problems and Barriers of Working. Data were analyzed using descriptive
statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test, and content analysis. The results revealed that nurses in the sub-district health-promoting hospital (PCU) performed the overall palliative care roles more than nurses in the primary care cluster (PCC). In particular, nurses’ roles consisted of creating a team of a health care partnership in the community; giving knowledge and skills training for caregivers and relatives; pain management/pain relief; and cooperating and providing holistic care in the end of life; respectively. The care process included: preparation; home health care; creating caregiver networks; strengthening caregivers’ potential, and visiting
the family of the deceased patients at home. The obstacles for working of nurses in both the PCC and PCU included a lack of a clear policy on palliative care in the primary care level, a lack of knowledge development and necessary equipment, a heavy workload, and insufficient personnel. The results of this study suggest: 1) establishing a policy supporting palliative care and implementing concrete actions to in all levels, 2) providing knowledge development through training and support, as well as, providing necessary equipment, and 3) the Ministry of Public Health should review the workforce frame for the supply of sufficient numbers of
nurses based on workloads.
Keywords: Roles of nurses, Palliative care, Primary care unit

Article Details

How to Cite
1.
Khongsrichay O, Noonil N, Jaraeprapal U. Palliative Care Roles of Nurses in Primary Care Units of Health Region 11. Nurs Res Inno J [Internet]. 2021 Mar. 29 [cited 2024 Mar. 29];26(3):310-24. Available from: https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/RNJ/article/view/241753
Section
บทความวิจัย

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