Aim: The aim is to develop knowledge about the phenomenon of leading care close to the patient in community home care from the perspectives of older person’s (aged 65 years and older), next of kin and registered nurses.   Background: When the home becomes the context for caring, it can be both a place for rest and worry. Demands are placed on the registered nurse, as responsible for leading a person-centred care guided by the older person’s expectations. However, research is limited on the phenomenon of leading care close to older persons in community home care. Methods: Results from four studies were further interpreted into a comprehensive understanding. The overall research process was guided by a qualitative descriptive and interpretative approach grounded in reflective lifeworld research. Findings: The comprehensive understanding illuminates that leading care close to the patient in community home care was found to consist of an ethical demand that came with the responsibility to lead the care through others in a space between closeness and distance. Leading care in a space between closeness and distance can be understood as leading between health and illness, between biology and existence and attuning to the older person’s autonomy and integrity, allowing the other to surrender to care with trust. Leading care can then mean maintaining an ethical approach in the meeting with the patient to preserve dignified care for older persons in need of care at home. Conclusions: The result from the comprehensive understanding highlights ethics, relations, responsibility, trust and confidence as essential structures for a leadership that is person centered. The knowledge gained can help us better understand the prerequisites for leading person-centered care in community home care and can contribute to improving the care for patients in an existentially vulnerable life situation.