Key result
Qualitative interviews identify 4 key palliative care practices for HF patients transitioning to end-of-life care.
Why the study?
Heart failure patients face unique end-of-life challenges due to unpredictable disease trajectories, but cardiovascular ward palliative nursing practices in Japan remain underexplored.
Experienced cardiovascular nurses in Japan integrate essential palliative care into routine practice for end-of-life heart failure patients, highlighting the need for specialized nursing competencies to navigate unpredictable disease trajectories and cultural barriers.
May inform culturally sensitive HF palliative nursing in Japan; leaves open generalizability and need for quantitative validation.
Heart failure patients face unique end-of-life challenges due to unpredictable disease trajectories, yet nursing practices in cardiovascular wards' palliative care practices in Japan remain underexplored. This study clarified the palliative care practices implemented by nurses in cardiovascular wards after the transition of heart failure patients to end-of-life care. Six experienced nurses participated in semistructured interviews. Data were analyzed using qualitative inductive analysis, and 4 key characteristics were identified. First, nurses provided early decision support despite prognostic uncertainty. Second, nurses balanced disease management with patient preferences through continuous physical assessment. Third, nurses coordinated complex discharge planning managing medical decisions and family preparation. Fourth, nurses engaged physicians to facilitate timely prognosis discussions. Importantly, these practices were delivered by experienced nurses in cardiovascular wards rather than palliative care specialists, reflecting integration of essential palliative care within routine cardiovascular nursing. Notably, cultural barriers and unpredictable disease trajectories create unique challenges requiring specialized nursing competencies.
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Sakamoto et al. (2026) studied Heart failure (n=6). Palliative care practices was evaluated on Palliative care practices implemented by nurses. Qualitative interviews with 6 experienced cardiovascular nurses in Japan identified 4 key palliative care practices for heart failure patients transitioning to end-of-life care.
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