This study elicited the experiences of nurses caring for children with life-limiting conditions and their family, within a community based intellectual disability service. A qualitative descriptive research approach was adopted where purposeful sampling recruited 10 participants. Data was collected using one to one semi-structured interviews and…

Purpose: The response of each child to terminal illness treatment is highly individual. This will certainly affect the level and type of perceived needs. This study is conducted to examine the needs of children with terminal illness from the perspective of nurses and parents. Method: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted in this research.…

This study examined physicians' attitude, involvement, and perceived barriers with the health care proxy. A cross sectional, correlational design was used to survey practicing physicians (N = 70). Physicians had positive attitudes toward the health care proxy and indicated that the most significant barriers to health care proxy completion were…

Purpose: Given concerns about end-of-life care for many nursing home (NH) residents, this study sought to understand factors influencing hospice referral or nonreferral as well as timing of referral. Design and Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews with personnel from seven participating NHs and two hospices. We interviewed NH directors…

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to develop measures of end-of-life (EOL) care processes in nursing homes and to validate the instrument for measuring them. Design and Methods: A survey of directors of nursing was conducted in 608 eligible nursing homes in New York State. Responses were obtained from 313 (51.5% response rate) facilities.…

The study surveyed 135 health care professionals (74 nurses, 32 physicians, and 29 social workers) to examine their personal death attitudes and experiences in relation to their reported advance directive communication practice behavior. Negative correlations were found between collaborating with other health care professionals regarding the…

Analyzed how nurses deal with terminal and dying patients in two inpatient wards in Belgian general hospital. Observed that nurses often felt dissatisfied with their terminal caregiving. Suggests terminal care include specific physical, social, religious, and psychological services, given to terminal patient and family, to obtain as high a level…

Examined perceptions of 20 physicians and 20 nurses of need for, feasibility of, and value of regulations and legislation to govern dying process. Found little unanimity in their attitudes. Some believed such regulations were needed, but others believed they would seriously compromise good patient care. Also found disagreement on who should…

Data were collected from 213 nurses and 61 social workers at major hospitals across Israel. Whereas nurses reported being more involved in the daily care of terminally ill patients, social workers reported being more involved in discussions with patients and family members. Nurses were more willing than social workers to use artificial feeding and…

Compared palliative care staff with staff from burn and neonatal units and with mature age general nursing trainees at end of training. Found that palliative care staff expressed better quality of life, in terms of significantly less anxiety and depression, as well as more good feelings than other staff groups. (Author/NB)

Suggests that most bioethical decisions concerning children born with catastrophic illnesses should be made by parents with input from physicians and health care workers and guidance from hospital infant ethics committees. The child protective service system should have the final authority to assure that the decisions of caregivers do not…