Methodological Issues in Researching Palliative Care Nursing Practice

The purpose of this integrative review was to describe the research conducted by nurses since the mid-1990s on nursing practice in the context of palliative/end-of-life care, identify promising methodological developments as well as methodological challenges, and propose strategies to support the development of this field of nursing research. A search of databases resulted in 121 research reports published between 1995 and 2003. Studies were included if the lead author was a nurse and the focus was nursing practice or nurses' attitudes about providing palliative or end-of-life care. Relatively few studies included patients, there were limitations in the data-collection methods used, and there was a lack of studies evaluating palliative care nursing. An emphasis on the interdisciplinary nature of palliative care may be hindering nurses from examining the effectiveness of nursing interventions. Increased attention should be given to examining the efficiency and effectiveness of nursing interventions to ensure the best outcomes for patients and their families.