The vast majority of the 220,000 Canadians who die each year, principally of old age and progressive ill health, do not have access to specialized hospice or palliative care. Hospice and palliative care programs are unevenly distributed across Canada, with existing programs limited in capacity and services varying considerably across programs.…

Reports on abandoned study examining potential benefits of psychotherapy to terminal cancer patients. Preliminary feasibility study found physicians' attitudes toward their dying patients as reformed and progressive. Interest shown by physicians did not translate into tangible research effort in spite of active pursuit by investigator over period…

Notes that burnout among caregivers of the terminally ill is related to the various ways in which people meet their death. Provides examples of reactions to different types of death and makes suggestions for identifying and coping with caregiver burnout throughout the spectrum of individuals, relationships, and modes of death. (Author/NB)

Used Hall and Van de Castle dream content scales to score 104 dreams from 9 terminally ill patients. Found subjects had significantly fewer characters, activities, interactions, color descriptions, and less emotional content in their dreams than physically healthy subjects. Dream content suggests adaptive withdrawal and process of social and…

Examined 25 dream reports of individuals in Palliative Care Unit. Content analysis of dream reports supports hypothesis that continuity exists between dreaming and waking experience. Results did not indicate that themes of death and aggression, negative emotion, or infant and child characters were more prevalent among the dying. (Author/NB)

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…

Interviewed 100 terminally ill cancer patients to examine farewells made before the interview and those desired and planned but not yet completed. Most patients (81 percent) desired to farewell; most wanted farewell to occur late in course of their dying. Prominent in preferred styles of farewells were the gift, conversation, and letter.…

Reviews novels dealing with the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic, noting that their perspectives on death can be extracted through content analysis. Concludes that, overall, these novels present weak symbolization about death with rituals that are not highly elaborated and that complex images of the afterlife are not offered.…

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…

Notes that role of psychologist on palliative care unit is to be there for terminally ill, their friends, and their families, both during the dying and the bereavement and for the caregiver team. Focuses on work of decoding ordinary words which for many patients hide painful past. Stresses necessity to remain open to unexpected. (Author/NB)

Notes that International Work Group on Death, Dying, and Bereavement recognizes wide variation of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors pertaining to childhood death, dying, and bereavement. Statement identifies set of assumptions which can serve as guidelines, across cultures, in care of children with terminal illness and their families. (Author/NB)

Interviews with 12 fourth-year student nurses in Scotland indicated that they found communicating with terminally ill and dying patients and their families difficult. Although lectures on death and dying were helpful, support and guidance for dealing with these issues in clinical practice were needed. (SK)

As a voluntary learning movement, adult education finds expression through a search for values. Continuing and community education provide support for both hospice and palliative care workers as well as families and friends of terminally ill persons in dealing with death and dying. (SK)

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)