Research

Communication is more than just a conversation: family members' satisfaction with end-of-life care

Abstract

Aim:

The main aim of this study was to investigate family member's experiences of communicating with health professionals (HP) during end-of-life care in acute medical wards and a nursing home.

Methods:

A qualitative approach using 19 semi-structured interviews to collect data was used. The text was analysed using a content analysis methodology, extracting content that reflected family member's experiences of end-of-life care in acute medical wards, and a nursing home in Iceland.

Results:

Four themes were identified as contributing to favourable communication with HPs in end-of-life care: establishing a relationship; flow of information; environment; acceptance at the time of death.

Conclusion:

Findings suggested that the context of communication in end-of-life care is more than just a conversation. It includes health professional's appearances, decision-making and respect. Satisfactory communication is a necessary factor of quality of care and the fundamental aspect of the establishment of a positive interpersonal relationship.

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International Journal of Palliative Nursing

2 October 2018Volume 24Issue 10

ISSN (print): 1357-6321
ISSN (online): 2052-286X

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History

Published online 25 October 2018

Published in print 2 October 2018

Information

Keywords

Acknowledgements:

The authors wish to express their gratitude to all the participants for expounding their experiences in these difficult times with great sincerity. We thank the management of participating institutions for their good cooperation in finding participants for the study.

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