When people die suddenly and unexpectedly ethical issues often come to the fore. The aim of the study was to describe experiences of members of stroke teams in stroke units of ethical problems and how the teams manage the situation when caring for patients faced with sudden and unexpected death from stroke. Data were collected through four focus group interviews with 19 team members in stroke-unit teams, and analysed using interpretive content analysis. Three themes emerged from the analysis characterized by information, decisions about care and support for the next-of-kin in the changing and uncertain situation, with mutual trust as the core. Mutual trust, both within the stroke team and with next-of-kin was seen by the stroke-team members as a way of handling ethical problems by administering care with the patient's best interest at heart.

BackgroundMany nursing students are not prepared to encounter death and care for patients who are at the end of life as newly educated nurses. The Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of Dying Scale (FATCOD) has been used to assess nursing students’ attitudes during their education and changes have been noted.ObjectiveTo examine nursing students’ attitudes towards care of dying patients before and after a course in palliative care.DesignA descriptive study with a pre and post design.Settings & participantsNursing students (n = 73) enrolled in a mandatory palliative course in the nursing programme at a Swedish university.MethodsData were collected before and after a palliative care course using FATCOD and qualitative open-ended questions. Data from FATCOD were analysed using descriptive and analytical statistics. The open-ended questions were analysed with qualitative content analysis.ResultsThe students’ mean scores showed a statistically significant change toward a more positive attitude toward care of dying. Students with the lowest pre-course scores showed the highest mean change. The qualitative analysis showed that the students had gained additional knowledge, deepened understanding, and increased feelings of security through the course.ConclusionsA course in palliative care could help to change nursing students’ attitudes towards care of patients who are dying and their relatives, in a positive direction. A course in palliative care is suggested to be mandatory in nursing education, and in addition to theoretical lectures include learning activities such as reflection in small groups, simulation training and taking care of the dead body.

Objectives Data on the long‐term time course of poststroke functional outcome is limited. We investigated changes in functional outcome over 5 years after stroke in a hospital based cohort. Materials and Methods Consecutive patients who were independent in activities of daily living (ADL) and admitted to a Stroke Unit at Skaraborg Hospital, Sweden for a first acute stroke from 2007 to 2009 ( n = 1,421) were followed‐up after 3 months and thereafter annually over 5 years using a postal questionnaire. Clinical variables at acute stroke and 3 months post stroke were obtained from the Swedish Stroke Register. ADL dependency was defined as dependence in dressing, toileting or indoor mobility. Results The proportions of survivors who reported ADL dependency remained stable throughout follow‐up (19%–22%). However, among survivors who were ADL independent at 3 months, about 3% deteriorated to dependency each year. Deterioration was predicted by age (HR 1.11; 95% CI 1.08–1.13), diabetes (HR 1.65; 95% CI 1.12–2.44), NIHSS score (HR 1.07; 95% CI 1.04–1.10), and self‐perceived unmet care needs one year post stroke (HR 2.01; 95% CI 1.44–2.81). Transitions from ADL dependency to independence occurred mainly during the first year post stroke. Improvement was negatively predicted by living alone before stroke (HR 0.41 95% CI 0.19–0.91), NIHSS score (HR 0.90; 95% CI 0.86–0.95) and ischemic stroke (vs. hemorrhagic stroke), HR 0.39; 95% CI 0.17–0.89. Conclusion Transitions between ADL independence and dependency occur up to 5 years after stroke. Some of the factors predicting these transitions are potentially modifiable.