Abstract
Palliative care makes heavy demands on the home-care nurse. When caring for the patient the nurse might come very close to both patient and his or her family. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of a good palliative care situation in home-care nursing, according to the home-care nurse. Information was gathered by conducting narrative interviews, using one open-ended question. Five nurses, working in municipal health and medical services in Sweden, were interviewed. They were asked to describe one good palliative care situation in home-care nursing. The narratives were analyzed through van Manen's method. Four themes emerged from the narratives: confidence, presence, togetherness and a sensitive ear. These themes were construed as van Manen's existentials: spatiality, corporeality, temporality and relationality/communality. The results of this study contribute to the understanding of the life-world of the home-care nurses, while giving palliative care.