How to communicate with patients about future illness progression and end of life: a systematic review.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Conversation and discourse analytic research has yielded important evidence about skills needed for effective, sensitive communication with patients about illness progression and end of life.

Objectives

To: ▸ Locate and synthesise observational evidence about how people communicate about sensitive future matters; ▸ Inform practice and policy on how to provide opportunities for talk about these matters; ▸ Identify evidence gaps.

Design

Systematic review of conversation/discourse analytic studies of recorded interactions in English, using a bespoke appraisal approach and aggregative synthesis.

Results

19 publications met the inclusion criteria. We summarised findings in terms of eight practices: 'fishing questions'-open questions seeking patients' pers

SUBMITTER: Parry R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4251180 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature