Abstract

Background: Pain is common among older patients and can be related to frailty. Nurses in home care encounter many older patients with pain and have a significant responsibility to coordinate care around the patient. The nurse provides security to the patient and emphasizes the patient's will and wishes.

Aim: The purpose of the study was to describe nurses' experiences of caring for older patients with pain in municipal home care.

Method: Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with nurses in home care in three municipalities in southern Sweden. The text was analyzed using content analysis, and the manifest and latent analysis resulted in one theme, two categories, and four subcategories. 

Main results: The overarching theme "Seeing and understanding the pain beyond the symptom" showed that the participants felt a sense of helplessness and frustration in many situations when the patient's pain could not be alleviated and when the participants felt a lack attention from the doctors. The participants described that the patient's pain was interpreted differently depending on the experience one has as a nurse. The clinical perspective was better developed among nurses with more experience in the profession, and the participants with less experience felt great support from their colleagues. The conversation was an important part of the overall assessment of the patient's pain, and collaboration within the team was essential for the participants to feel supported in their work.

Conclusion: There is a need for a holistic view, good communication, and strengthened multiprofessional collaboration in the care of elderly patients with pain. To improve care, more continuity, multiprofessional collaboration, increased access to education, and better organizational conditions are required to enable a holistic view of the patient's pain.

Keywords: Elderly patient, Home healthcare, Interview study, Nurse, Pain.