End-of-Life Assessments and Communication for Dying Patients and Their Families

ABSTRACT: End-of-life assessments aim to help dying patients and their families plan clinical interventions in advance and prepare them for a peaceful end of life, in which the patient accepts life and death, and the family accepts the patient’s departure. It is important to assess whether death is imminent within a few days, because critical hospice care is provided intensively during that period. The following five changes constitute objective evidence of the end of life: diminished daily living performance, decreased food intake, changes in consciousness and increased sleep quantity, worsening of respiratory distress, and end-stage delirium. As subjective evidence, it is suggested that sensitive perceptions of experienced nurses and the feelings of family members caring for patients should also b

SUBMITTER: Lee E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10180061 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature