AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To describe nurses' experiences of palliative care for older people with advanced dementia living in residential aged care units.

BACKGROUND: Dementia is a global health problem and the number of older people with dementia who need palliative care is increasing. Previous research has revealed that care for older people with dementia in the final stage of life is usually complex. However, little is known about how nurses experience palliative care for older people with advanced dementia living in residential aged care units.

METHOD: Nine individual, semi-structured face-to-face interviews with nurses working in residential aged care units for older people with advanced dementia in palliative care in western Sweden were analysed using qualitative inductive content analysis. The COREQ checklist was followed.

RESULTS: The nurses considered that palliative care for older people with advanced dementia is a complex and challenging form of care. In particular, they identified three challenges that must be met: developing specialised knowledge and skills, developing teamwork as a working method, and creating a caring relationship.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of our analysis indicate that if nurses are aware of and understand that the challenges are essential for 'joining all the pieces together', the palliative care for older people with advanced dementia may become a positive experience for nurses and may increase their sense of satisfaction and security in their professional role.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: For the palliative care to be successful the nurses need to 'join all the pieces together', i.e. succeed in developing specialised knowledge and skills, developing teamwork as a working method, and creating a caring relationship to establish a person-centred care with the older person with advanced dementia and with his or her relatives.