Caring from the heart as belonging-The basis for mediating compassion.

Aim: The aim of this study was to illuminate nurses' experiences of mediating compassion to patients in the home care context.

Design: A phenomenological-hermeneutical approach was used.

Methods: The data comprised of texts from interviews with 12 nurses in a home care context. Informed consent was sought from participants regarding participation in the study and the storage and handling of data for research purposes.

Results: Four themes were seen: Encountering one another as human beings, Being in the moment, Bearing responsibility for the other and Being in a loving communion. The overall theme was Acting from one's inner ethos, heart of goodness and love. Mediating compassion as belonging can be interpreted as the "component" that holds the caring relationship together and unites the different levels of health as doing, being and becoming in the ontological health model. Further research should focus on revealing compassion from the perspective of patients.