Children with cancer, who are at the end of life and facing death, need access to palliative care services, and nurses play an important role in providing these services. In this study, the palliative care strategies of nurses were explored during the care of children in the end stage of cancer. The thematic analysis approach was used. Data analysis led to the emergence of the theme of perceived compassion. This theme covered the categories of feeling the shadow of death on the child and comforting accompaniment. Nurses who felt the shadow of death on the child provided the pre-death arrangements and an opportunity to continue more communication between children and their parents and other relatives. By comforting accompaniment, nurses went beyond their legal duties to help parents cope after the death of a child. Nurses continued an empathy, and post-death interaction with parents out of their roles.

Ali Fakhr-Movahedi completed his Ph.D. at the age of 40 years from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. He is the head of the Pediatric and Neonatal Nursing Department of Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. He has over 56 publications that have been cited over 693 times, and his publication h-index is 13. He has been serving as an editorial board member of several reputed journals.