Self-care practices among hospice nurses in general hospitals in China: A qualitative study

Abstract

Objective

This study was aimed at exploring the real-world self-care experiences and challenges encountered by hospice nurses caring for terminally ill patients at general hospitals in mainland China.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 hospice care nurses at 10 general hospitals in China from June 2022 to February 2023. Using Colaizzi's seven-step method, we analyzed and distilled the data into key themes.

Results

Three themes were identified: 1) benefits of self-care (personal growth and self-worth affirmation); 2) effective self-care strategies (physical health management, psychological resilience building, support resource mobilisation, and gaining spiritual consolation); and 3) challenges in self-care (professional development-related challenges and work environment-related challenges). The participants consisted of 14 women and 1 man, with the nurses having a maximum of 5 years of hospice experience. Despite efforts to balance participant numbers from different levels of hospital-based hospice care units, more hospice nurses from provincial tertiary general hospitals were recruited. This imbalance may limit the generalizability of the findings to other health care settings.

Conclusions

This study highlighted the importance and benefits of self-care for hospice nurses. Implementing effective self-care strategies can strengthen hospice nurses’ well-being and psychological resilience, expand their access to support resources, and ultimately improve the quality of care. Health care institutions and hospice providers should prioritize understanding and promotion of self-care practices among hospice nurses.