Concordance between Experiences of Bereaved Relatives, Physicians, and Nurses with Hospital End-of-Life Care: Everyone Has Their “Own Truth”

Witkamp, Frederika E.; Zuylen, Lia van; Vergouwe, Yvonne; Rijt, C.C.D. van der; Heide, Agnes van der

doi:10.1155/2015/623890

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(68 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…From other research it is known that perspectives of relatives can differ from those of the patient or the physician. [ 34 ] We did not have information on the non-responders, so selection bias cannot be ruled out. As this study was performed in a single, academic centre, the generalizability of the findings may be limited.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Palliative care team consultation and quality of death and dying in a university hospital: A secondary analysis of a prospective study

Brinkman-Stoppelenburg

Witkamp

Zuylen

et al. 2018

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeInvolvement of palliative care experts improves the quality of life and satisfaction with care of patients who are in the last stage of life. However, little is known about the relation between palliative care expert involvement and quality of dying (QOD) in the hospital. We studied the association between palliative care team (PCT) consultation and QOD in the hospital as experienced by relatives.MethodsWe conducted a secondary analysis of data from a prospective study among relatives of patients who died from cancer in a university hospital and compared characteristics and QOD of patients for whom the PCT was or was not consulted.Results175 out of 343 (51%) relatives responded to the questionnaire. In multivariable linear regression PCT was associated with a 1.0 point better QOD (95% CI 0.07–1.96). In most of the subdomains of QOD, we found a non-significant trend towards a more favorable outcome for patients for whom the PCT was consulted. Patients for whom the PCT was consulted had more often discussed their preferences for medical treatment, had more often been aware of their imminent death and had more often been at peace with their imminent death. Further, patients for whom the PCT was consulted and their relatives had more often been able to say goodbye. Relatives had also more often been present at the moment of death when a PCT had been consulted.ConclusionFor patients dying in the hospital, palliative care consultation is associated with a favorable QOD.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Palliative care team consultation and quality of death and dying in a university hospital: A secondary analysis of a prospective study

Brinkman-Stoppelenburg

Witkamp

Zuylen

et al. 2018

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Previous research has shown that experiences with end of life care of professionals and bereaved relatives may differ. 16 Symptom burden. Other studies found varying prevalences of pain (20%-57%), breathlessness (48%-84%) and agitation (23%-77%) among patients with COVID-19 in the last phase of life.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dying in times of the coronavirus: An online survey among healthcare professionals about end-of-life care for patients dying with and without COVID-19 (the CO-LIVE study)

Pasman¹,

Korfage

Witkamp

et al. 2021

Palliat Med

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: During the COVID-19 outbreak restricting measures may have affected the provision of good end-of-life care for patients with and without COVID-19. Aim: To describe characteristics of patients who died and the care they received, and to examine how patient characteristics, setting and visiting restrictions are related to provided care and evaluation of the dying process. Design: An open observational online survey among healthcare professionals about their experience of end-of-life care that was provided to a patient with or without COVID-19 who died between March and July 2020. Setting/participants: Healthcare professionals (nurses, physicians and others) in the Netherlands from all settings: home ( n = 163), hospital ( n = 249), nursing home ( n = 192), hospice ( n = 89) or elsewhere ( n = 68). Results: Of patients reported on, 56% had COVID-19. Among these patients, 358 (84.4%) also had a serious chronic illness. Having COVID-19 was negatively, and having a serious chronic illness was positively associated with healthcare staff’s favourable appreciation of end-of-life care. Often there had been visiting restrictions in the last 2 days of life (75.8%). This was negatively associated with appreciation of care at the end of life and the dying process. Finally, care at the end of life was less favourably appreciated in hospitals and especially nursing homes, and more favourably in home settings and especially hospices. Conclusions: Our study suggests that end-of-life care during the COVID-19 pandemic may be further optimised, especially in nursing homes and hospitals. Allowing at least some level of visits of relatives seems a key component.

show abstract

“…Healthcare professionals and relatives sometimes have different perceptions of how much prognostic information relatives have been given. 21,22 It is therefore important to consider a range of perspectives when addressing this issue.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communication between healthcare professionals and relatives of patients approaching the end-of-life: A systematic review of qualitative evidence

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Effective communication between healthcare professionals and relatives of patients approaching the end-of-life is vital to ensure patients have a ‘good death’. To improve communication, it is important to first identify how this is currently being accomplished. Aim: To review qualitative evidence concerning characteristics of communication about prognosis and end-of-life care between healthcare professionals and relatives of patients approaching the end-of-life. Design: Qualitative systematic review (PROSPERO registration CRD42017065560) using thematic synthesis. Peer-reviewed, English language articles exploring the content of conversations and how participants communicated were included. No date restrictions were applied. Quality of included studies was appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research. Data sources: An electronic database search of CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and EMBASE was performed. Results: Thirty-one papers were included. Seven themes were identified: highlighting deterioration; involvement in decision-making, post-decision interactional work, tailoring, honesty and clarity, specific techniques for information delivery and roles of different healthcare professionals. Varied levels of family involvement in decision-making were reported. Healthcare professionals used strategies to aid understanding and collaborative decision-making, such as highlighting the patient’s deterioration, referring to patient wishes and tailoring information delivery. Doctors were regarded as responsible for discussing prognosis and decision-making, and nurses for providing individualized care. Conclusion: Findings suggest training could provide healthcare professionals with these strategies to improve communication. Interventions such as question prompt lists could help relatives overcome barriers to involvement in decision-making. Further research is needed to understand communication with relatives in different settings and with different healthcare professionals.

show abstract

Concordance between Experiences of Bereaved Relatives, Physicians, and Nurses with Hospital End-of-Life Care: Everyone Has Their “Own Truth”

Cited by 10 publications

References 53 publications

Palliative care team consultation and quality of death and dying in a university hospital: A secondary analysis of a prospective study

Palliative care team consultation and quality of death and dying in a university hospital: A secondary analysis of a prospective study

Dying in times of the coronavirus: An online survey among healthcare professionals about end-of-life care for patients dying with and without COVID-19 (the CO-LIVE study)

Communication between healthcare professionals and relatives of patients approaching the end-of-life: A systematic review of qualitative evidence

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About