Terminal patients' awareness of impending death: the impact upon requesting adequate care.

Full Abstract

In this qualitative study, 19 Dutch terminal patients and 23 relatives of deceased patients were interviewed. The interviews revealed that a timely request for care and anticipation of "what was going to happen" was determined by the degree to which patients and their relatives realize that the end of life was close, that the symptoms would get worse, and that the family would have to bear an increasing burden. When awareness of the severity of the situation dawns late, shortly before death, the patient and family may not receive the right sort of care, nor have access to the appropriate facilities. In the concluding part of this article, there is a plea for adopting a proactive approach. Nurses and other caregivers must try to prepare patients and relatives early for the care that will become necessary in the later stages.

Author information

Author/s: Francke, Anneke L (AL); Willems, Dick L (DL);

Affiliation: NIVEL-the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands. a.francke(-atsign-)nivel.nl

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Cancer nursing (Cancer Nurs), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2005 May-Jun; vol 28 (issue 3) : pp 241-7

Dates: Created 2005/05/25; Completed 2005/08/08; Revised 2007/11/15;

PMID: 15915070, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

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