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

A Qualitative Study

Datos Bibliográficos

ID13629348
AutoresMarja‐Liisa Laakkonen (0000-0001-6528-8242, Herttoniemi Hospital, autor de correspondencia), 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)
Año2004
Volumen49
Número2
Páginas117-129
Fecha de publicación2004-10-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaOMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0030-2228 • E-ISSN: 1541-3764
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2190/kvm3-ulm7-0ruh-kvqh
OpenAlexW2115381542
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas27

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