Background:

The aging population in the world has increased and many people are reaching very high ages. This has made palliative care important because the aging population requires more palliative care. India is classified as a developing country where the aging population over the past 20 years has increased. How Indian nurses maintain patients’ autonomy in palliative care is important to study to gain more knowledge and understanding among nurses.

Aim:

The aim of this study was to illuminate Indian nurses’ experiences of maintaining the elderly patients’ autonomy in palliative nursing care.

Method:

A qualitative content analysis was conducted in order to achieve variations of nurses’ experiences of maintaining patients’ autonomy in palliative nursing care. Six interviews were conducted. The interviews took place in a private hospital in east India.

Results:

The result shows one theme and two categories of value for nurses to maintain the patients’ autonomy in palliative care. The theme is: nurses’ compassion and respect for the patient. The categories are: to make the patients involved in their own care and to communicate with the patients.

Conclusion:

When supporting patients in palliative care, nurses need knowledge about these mentioned areas, so they can find strategies to meet the patients with respect and to maintain their autonomy