Fiona Reid examines how exposure to vulnerable and grieving families can bring about challenges to objectivity and professional boundaries

Aims To elicit the views of children’s nurses with regard to the personal, contextual and interprofessional challenges faced when delivering palliative and end of life care to children and young people in the community.

Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven nurses who provided palliative care to one or more child or young person in the home. Data generated were analysed thematically to define topics.

Findings Four themes emerged: service delivery, nurse-family relationships, nurses’ grief, funeral rites and bereavement support.

Conclusions Nurses experienced considerable internal and external pressures. Some are inevitable but others, such as organisation of care provision to families and nurses’ personal coping, could be improved by adequately resourced workforces, integrated service structures and guidance on reflective practice. Further research is needed.