title: The paradox of palliative care nursing across cultural boundaries.
abstract: The purpose of this qualitative study, using a modified grounded theory approach, was to investigate how palliative care nurses care for people from cultural backgrounds other than their own. Ten palliative care nurses were interviewed. The semi-structured interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Analysis commenced as soon as data began to emerge. The findings show that palliative nursing across cultural boundaries is paradoxical. In endeavouring to treat everyone equally, nurses treated everyone as individuals. They made intense efforts to transcend both cultural and language barriers. The nurses gave of themselves when caring for the patients, but their endeavours were impeded by limited resources and a lack of education. The theory of cross-cultural endeavour in palliative nursing was developed to explain how palliative care nurses care for patients from cultures other than their own.
authors.affiliation: North London Hospice, London, UK. jsomerville@northlondonhospice.co.uk
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Somerville
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel / Q000208:ethnology*; D001293:Attitude to Death / Q000208:ethnology; D001364:Awareness; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003144:Communication Barriers; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D005655:Funeral Rites / Q000523:psychology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008131:London; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000523:psychology*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology*; D009742:Nursing Theory; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012647:Self-Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016746:Transcultural Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration