Optimizing Nursing Potential Within a Public Health Approach to Embrace Palliative Care

Abstract

Background: Many Canadians do not receive adequate palliative care. Even though nine out of ten deaths in Canada are caused by chronic conditions, most Canadians do not receive a palliative approach to care early within their disease trajectory. Public health approaches to palliative care, specifically Compassionate Community and Compassionate City initiatives, have the potential to improve access to and quality of palliative care in Canada. Nurses have been strong partners in the development of many initiatives across Canada, yet there is no literature describing their role. Purpose: To describe and understand the different ways that nurses are engaged in the planning and implementation of Compassionate Community and City initiatives in Canada. Methods: The overarching methodology used to guide the design of this study was interpretive description (Thorne, 2025). Twelve one-on-one, semi-structured interviews were conducted on Zoom with ten registered nurses (n=10) and two non-nurse interdisciplinary team members (n=2) who are engaged in the planning and implementation of Compassionate Community and/or City initiatives across Canada. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Findings: The participants engaged in the planning and implementation of Compassionate Communities and Cities to support individuals who have poor access to palliative care. Nurses had three main roles in the planning and implementation of Compassionate Community and City initiatives in Canada, including: (1) catalysts who move initiatives forward, (2) health promoters who apply the health promotion principles to palliative care, and (2) bridges who form connections between community partners, researchers, and the healthcare system. The participants also discussed the importance of integrating the public health approach to palliative care into everyday nursing practice across the healthcare system. Conclusion: Nurses have a key role in facilitating and strengthening the spread of the Compassionate Community and City movement to improve the quality of life of individuals facing issues associated with chronic, progressive, and serious illness.