District Nurses Views and Experiences of the Palliative Care Key Worker Role: A Qualitative Interview Study

Aim: To explore views and experiences of qualified and trainee District Nurses of the Palliative Care Key Worker role.
Design: Exploratory descriptive qualitative design.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews conducted with eleven participants. Data were content analysed for themes. COREQ guidelines were followed.
Results: Key themes included: (1) District Nurses role, highlighting emotional toll and increasing demand for palliative care; (2) the realities of the Palliative Care Key Worker role, emphasising the need for standardised education and adequate resources; and (3) multidisciplinary working, underscoring the importance of collaboration and communication. Participants identified the lack of formal training, high workloads, and limited time as significant barriers.
Conclusions: The Palliative Care Key Worker role is very important in community palliative care, but implementation requires standardised training, resource allocation, and multidisciplinary collaboration. Addressing these gaps is recommended to ensure effective and sustainable integration of the role into practice.