ArticleBMJ open2026
Using narrative practices in nursing to enhance compassionate care for older adults: protocol for a qualitative study.
Article in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
introductionCompassionate care is a core ethical and professional value in nursing, especially in the context of elderly care, where vulnerability, chronic illness and relational dependency are at the forefront. Despite the growing international interest in compassion and narrative medicine, there is limited empirical research examining how nurses experience, construct and sustain compassionate care for older people in everyday practice, especially in Eastern European contexts. Narrative practices offer a valuable methodological lens for capturing the experiences, moral meanings and emotional dimensions of nursing care. The aim of this study is to explore how nurses understand, experience and implement compassionate care for older people and to explore the potential of narrative practices to illuminate facilitators, barriers and professional meaning-making in gerontological nursing. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A qualitative research design based on narrative inquiry and interpretive phenomenological analysis will be used. Semistructured narrative interviews will be conducted with registered nurses working with older people in institutional care settings. The interview guide is informed by international literature on compassionate care, narrative medicine, gerontological nursing and relational ethics. Data will be analysed using reflexive thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke's six-phase framework supported by NVivo software. Narrative and interpretive elements will be integrated to explore both the content of participants' stories and the meanings they attribute to their experiences. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Medical University of Varna (Approval No. 17, 3 July 2025). All participants will provide informed consent and confidentiality will be assured throughout the study. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, academic conferences and professional forums, with the aim of informing nursing education, practice and policy related to compassionate care for older people.
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