Continuity of Care During End of Life: An Evolutionary Concept Analysis

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to clarify the concept of continuity of\ud care during the end of life with a focus on the patient’s perspective.\ud METHODS: Rodgers’ method of evolutionary concept analysis was used. The\ud analysis was based on literature published in English in the databases Cumulative\ud Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Medline, and PsycINFO.\ud FINDINGS: Analysis revealed that the continuity at life’s end is a dynamic process\ud that depends on the interaction among patients, families, and providers, and is\ud strictly interwoven with the patient’s time perception.\ud CONCLUSION: This analysis showed the complexities surrounding the patient’s\ud experience of continuity at life’s end.\ud IMPLICATION FOR NURSING: Nurses can benefit from a deeper understanding\ud of the patient’s experience, both theoretically and in practice

How continuity of care is experienced within the context of integrated palliative care: A qualitative study with patients and family caregivers in five European countries

“…5 It is a key issue in health care policy and organization 6,7 and is crucial for patient experiences with health care. 8,9 However, continuity of care is often at stake in care provision for patients with advanced diseases who usually receive care from multiple health care professionals. [9][10][11][12][13] Lack of continuity of care can cause undesired experiences with palliative care provision, for example, feeling unsafe during illness transitions, 9 patients being transferred between multidisciplinary teams 11 and suboptimal support for problems and needs.…”

A Concept Analysis of Continuity of Care in Nursing

“…The definition refers to adequate communication, integrated healthcare, coordination and information sharing between different care providers [1]. Comprehensive information contained the information related to the setting, staff availability, formal procedures, treatment plan, medical history and patient information [15]. Consistent cooperation is identified as effective communication between nurses, services and patients, providing integrated service through consistent management [10].…”

“…The definition refers to the continuous caring relationship between patient and professionals. The relationship is providing healthcare to patients, which is essential in the delivery of care, and the illness is managed by communication and an integrated tailored care [15], and it is expanded to include the interdisciplinary and knowledge about the patients and their situation [18].…”

“…Effective interaction is essential in creating a comfortable environment, trust and represents an indispensable part of on-going care planning process, it is described as inspire confidence and involves patients in decisions about the care process, from single passage to final negotiation [15]. It is described as the establishment and maintenance of the therapeutic and guiding relationship between professionals and patients [1,18].…”

Discharge of older patients with chronic diseases: What nurses do and what they record. An observational study

“…The transitional care of chronic disease patients between hospital and outpatient setting is recognised as a period of vulnerability for patients (Allen, Hutchinson, Brown, & Livingston, 2016;D'Angelo et al, 2014). Discharge planning promotes safe and timely transfers between levels of care and between care settings, by identifying the patient's individual needs and appropriate posthospital discharge destination (Allen et al, 2016;Rodakowski et al, 2017).…”