Background: Patients who are in a late palliative phase and are being cared for in home health care need good planning and follow-up of their care. In the transition from early to late phase, the responsible physician must decide on end of life decisions, this is often done during a break point call. In order for nurses in home health care to be able to act and make the right decision in the event of a deteriorating condition, documentation and planning must be available and clear. It creates good conditions for the nurses to apply a person-centered approach.Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence and management of end of life decisions for patients who are at a late palliative stage, in home health care.Method: A quantitative survey study was conducted with sixteen closed and one qualitative open-ended question. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used. The qualitative question was addressed using content analysis.Results: One fifth of the nurses stated that there were always end of life decisions. Nurses who were older, had longer work experience or longer professional work in home health care had a more positive view of managing end of life decisions.Conclusion: It appeared that the nurses lacked available end of life decisions. Procedures for decisions and documentation as well as increased knowledge were requested by the nurses.Keywords: End of life decisions, home care, palliative care, nurse, person-centered nursing, quantitative questionnaire.

Bakgrund: Att ta beslut om ej HLR började redan på 50-talet och har visat sig vara ett svårt etiskt beslut. Ofta missförstås begreppet ej HLR och behandlingsbegränsningar av vårdpersonalen, vilket i förlängningen kan leda till olika vård av olika patienter beroende på hur den personal som är i tjänst tolkar begreppet. Sjuksköterskor ställs ofta inför etiska dilemman vid beslut kring behandling i livets slutskede, dels gentemot läkare och undersköterskor men även gentemot patient och anhöriga. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva sjuksköterskors upplevelser och erfarenheter av behandlingsbegränsningsbeslut gällande ej HLR. Metod: Semistrukturerad intervjustudie av åtta sjuksköterskor på en akutvårdsklinik, analys med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Analysen resulterade i tre kategorier utifrån sjuksköterskornas upplevelser och erfarenheter av behandlingsbegränsningsbeslut om ej HLR: Sjuksköterskors kunskap & erfarenhet, sjuksköterskors känsla av frustration och sjuksköterskors upplevelse av etiska dilemman. Sjuksköterskorna hade erfarit skillnader i kunskapsläget gällande behandlingsbegränsningar och ej HLR inom alla personalkategorier. Där fanns också en upplevelse av frustration bland annat när det saknades beslut om ej HLR och när de inte delade åsikt med beslutade läkare. Detta resulterade också i att de ställdes inför etiska dilemman när de var tvungna att påbörja HLR på grund av avsaknad av behandlingsbegränsnings beslut om ej HLR. Slutsats: Sjuksköterskorna hade upplevelse och erfarenhet av brister i kommunikationen mellan vårdpersonal inom alla personalkategorier. Önskemål om mer utbildning och diskussion i ämnet utrycktes för att förbättra beslutsfattandet och vården av de patienter som har eller bör ha beslut om ej HLR. / Background: DNR-decisions started in the 50´s and it has been proven as a difficult ethical decision. Often there is a misunderstanding of the concept of DNR and end-of-life decisions among the hospital staff, which can lead to differences in care of patients. Nurses´ often experience ethical dilemmas when decisions regarding treatment must be taken in the final stages of life, both against doctors and other nurses, but also to patients and their relatives. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe nurses' experiences of DNR decisions. Method: A semi-structured interview study of eight nurses in an acute care unit, analysis with qualitative content analysis. Results: The analysis resulted in three categories based on nurses´ experiences of end-of-life decisions and DNR; Nurses knowledge and experience, nurse´ sense of frustration and nurses´ experience of ethical dilemmas. The nurses´ had experienced differences in the knowledge regarding end-of-life decisions and DNR in all categories of staff. There was also an experience of frustration in when there was no decision on DNR and when they did not share the view with the doctor. This also resulted in that they were faced with ethical dilemmas when they had to begin CPR because of the absence of DNR-decision. Conclusion: The nurses had sensed and experienced lack of communication between health professionals in all categories of staff. Desire for more education and discussion on the subject was expressed in order to improve decision making and care of patients who have or should have the decision of DNR.