Background: The need for pre-bereavement support for children facing the death of a parent is well recognised but how this is done by hospice ward nurses in practice is not well known.
Method: To explore the experiences of hospice ward nurses' identification of the support needs of children under 18 years old facing the death of a parent, and the impact on hospice nurses when involved in providing this support.
Design: Semi-structured individual interviews with hospice nurses working on a single UK inpatient unit were audio-taped and analysed using thematic analysis to produce themes and subthemes.
Results: Nurses were highly reflective, discussing their personal experiences, and identified potential enablers and barriers to providing support. Child and family factors were identified as influencing identification of support needs.
Conclusion: Multiple factors influencing provision of support emerged. Formal training and readily available resources would support hospice nurses working with children.
Keywords: Children's bereavement; Palliative care; Parent; Patient safety; Support.