Exploring the experiences of community-based children's nurses providing palliative care.

Aim: To explore the experiences of community children's nurses (CCNs) and children's palliative care nurses (CPCNs) who provide end-stage palliative care to children with cancer in the family home.

Method: A qualitative approach was adopted. One-to-one interviews and facilitated case discussions were undertaken with 30 community nurses who had provided palliative care to a child or young person with cancer. A grounded theory approach was used for data analysis.

Findings: Because of the relative rarity of childhood cancer many CCNs and CPCNs engage infrequently in the palliative care of children or young people. This makes it difficult for them to develop and maintain knowledge and skills. There is a variation in the out-of-hours service provision available to families.

Conclusion: Further funding is needed to develop teams of trained, experienced CCNs and CPCNs who can provide palliative care for children and young people 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.