Terminally Ill Elderly Patient's Experiences, Attitudes, and Needs

A Qualitative Study

Bibliographic Data

ID13629348
AuthorsMarja‐Liisa Laakkonen (0000-0001-6528-8242, Herttoniemi Hospital, corresponding author), M L Laakkonen (Helsinki City Hospital Koskela), Kaisu Pitkälä (0000-0001-9659-6985, Herttoniemi Hospital), K H Pitkälä (Helsinki City Hospital Koskela), Timo Strandberg (0000-0001-6299-925X), T E Strandberg (Helsinki University Hospital)
Year2004
Volume49
Issue2
Pages117-129
Publication date2004-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueOMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0030-2228 • E-ISSN: 1541-3764
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2190/kvm3-ulm7-0ruh-kvqh
OpenAlexW2115381542
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited27

The aim of this qualitative study was to clarify how terminally ill elderly patients in acute wards perceive the end of life and what are their needs and wishes regarding care. The patients, despite their advanced illness, wished to be treated actively and hoped for more conversations with doctors about active care. They were content with their daily care but evaluated the care in light of the great workload of the nurses, forgiving them for not having time to talk to individual patients. They had specific modest wishes, but were reluctant to express even these because of concern about troubling their caregivers. We conclude that death remained a distant abstraction for these patients with a terminal prognosis. The challenge is to create an intimate caring atmosphere, where the issues related to dying may be elaborated in interaction and the last wishes expressed in a safe atmosphere

End-of-life care · Palliative care · Qualitative research · Sociology · Terminal care · Terminally ill · Workload · Medicine · Nursing · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues · Patient Dignity and Privacy · Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare · Psychology