Late-breaking abstract: Nurses´ attitudes to and knowledge of palliative care for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Palliative care for COPD is internationally supported by The American Thoracic Society and The European Respiratory Society (2004) and the Global Initiative for COPD (2013). Therefore it is important to explore current nursing practice. To explore nurses' attitudes to and nurses' knowledge of palliative care for patients with COPD. A qualitative descriptive research approach with a purposive sample of ten acute medical nurses was used. Semi-structured interview questioning was adopted. Data were organised according to pre-determined categories,these were then sorted into themes. Data analysis was then guided by the principles of deductive content analysis. The chronic, unpredictable nature of COPD and the emotional 'stress' of nursing a patient with COPD was noted.Disease staging could guide care but could also 'label' patients. Nurses' supported more individualised patient care. Palliative care was found to be beneficial in symptom management, support and patient education. However, end of life care was emotionally difficult. Nurses felt more specialised education and ongoing multidisciplinary team co-operation regarding COPD and palliative care was needed. Palliative care for patients with COPD is a relatively new concept with knowledge nurses felt they could improve patient's knowledge, their ability to cope with COPD as a condition and their ability to provide palliative care for these patients. Insight into nurses' attitudes e.g support for the ‘stress' of nursing chronic illnesses and the emotional difficulty of providing palliative care, will also aid the implementation of the highest standards of nursing practice for patients with COPD.