IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v293y2022ics0277953621009795.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The perspective of professional caregivers working in generalist palliative care on ‘good dying’: An integrative review

Author

Listed:
  • Lang, Alexander
  • Frankus, Elisabeth
  • Heimerl, Katharina

Abstract

In today's industrial societies, many people die receiving professional care. Although specialist palliative and hospice care have often been identified as ideal care approaches to promote good dying, more people die receiving generalist palliative care. This integrative review examines how professional caregivers providing generalist palliative care in hospitals, nursing or private homes define good dying. Furthermore, through comparative analysis of existing empirical studies, it explores conceptual aspects in researching good dying that better reflect the social complexity of this phenomenon. Three databases (Scopus, MEDLINE, and CINAHL) were searched for peer-reviewed studies published between January 2000 and April 2020. Studies were selected if they presented original empirical findings from qualitative or quantitative studies on the perspective of professional caregivers in generalist palliative care (nurses, physicians, surgeons, clergy, and other staff) on good dying or related concepts (e.g., good death, dignity in dying, or quality of life at the end of life). 42 studies were included in the review. They identified good dying as expected, accepted and prepared dying, as free from pain and suffering, as socially embedded, as being at peace with one's life and situation, as supported with individualised and holistic care, as based upon professional cooperation and communication, and as in a peaceful and private environment. The paper concludes that the perspective of professional caregivers in generalist palliative care shares many elements of good dying with societal and specialist palliative care discourses around good dying. Through comparing the different studies, the review found that studies that explicated who benefitted from ideals and practices of good dying, questioned the dichotomous categorisation of good/bad dying, or discussed the compatibility of elements of good dying, provided more nuanced perspectives on this topic. Thus, the review calls for a more systematic analysis of these aspects in research of good dying.

Suggested Citation

  • Lang, Alexander & Frankus, Elisabeth & Heimerl, Katharina, 2022. "The perspective of professional caregivers working in generalist palliative care on ‘good dying’: An integrative review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:293:y:2022:i:c:s0277953621009795
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114647
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953621009795
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114647?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joanna Broad & Merryn Gott & Hongsoo Kim & Michal Boyd & He Chen & Martin Connolly, 2013. "Erratum to: Where do people die? An international comparison of the percentage of deaths occurring in hospital and residential aged care settings in 45 populations, using published and available stati," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 58(2), pages 327-327, April.
    2. Seale, Clive, 2000. "Changing patterns of death and dying," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 51(6), pages 917-930, September.
    3. David Moher & Alessandro Liberati & Jennifer Tetzlaff & Douglas G Altman & The PRISMA Group, 2009. "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(7), pages 1-6, July.
    4. Joanna Broad & Merryn Gott & Hongsoo Kim & Michal Boyd & He Chen & Martin Connolly, 2013. "Where do people die? An international comparison of the percentage of deaths occurring in hospital and residential aged care settings in 45 populations, using published and available statistics," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 58(2), pages 257-267, April.
    5. Dympna Casey & Kathy Murphy & Aine Ni Leime & Philip Larkin & Sheila Payne & Katherine A Froggatt & Eamon O’Shea, 2011. "Dying well: factors that influence the provision of good end‐of‐life care for older people in acute and long‐stay care settings in Ireland," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(13‐14), pages 1824-1833, July.
    6. Seymour, Jane Elizabeth, 2000. "Negotiating natural death in intensive care," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 51(8), pages 1241-1252, October.
    7. Seale, Clive, 2004. "Media constructions of dying alone: a form of 'bad death'," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 58(5), pages 967-974, March.
    8. McNamara, Beverley & Waddell, Charles & Colvin, Margaret, 1994. "The institutionalization of the good death," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 1501-1508, December.
    9. Carmel, Sara, 2001. "The will to live: gender differences among elderly persons," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 52(6), pages 949-958, March.
    10. McNamara, Beverley, 2004. "Good enough death: autonomy and choice in Australian palliative care," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 58(5), pages 929-938, March.
    11. Zimmermann, Camilla, 2012. "Acceptance of dying: A discourse analysis of palliative care literature," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 217-224.
    12. McInerney, Fran, 2006. "Heroic frames: discursive constructions around the requested death movement in Australia in the late-1990s," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(3), pages 654-667, February.
    13. Stacey, Clare L. & Pai, Manacy & Novisky, Meghan A. & Radwany, Steven M., 2019. "Revisiting ‘awareness contexts’ in the 21st century hospital: How fragmented and specialized care shape patients' Awareness of Dying," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 212-218.
    14. Lang, Alexander, 2020. "The good death and the institutionalisation of dying: An interpretive analysis of the Austrian discourse," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lang, Alexander, 2020. "The good death and the institutionalisation of dying: An interpretive analysis of the Austrian discourse," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    2. Lindqvist, Olav & Tishelman, Carol, 2015. "Room for Death – International museum-visitors’ preferences regarding the end of their life," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1-8.
    3. Krawczyk, Marian, 2021. "Organizing end of life in hospital palliative care: A Canadian example," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    4. Silvia Gonella & Sara Campagna & Valerio Dimonte, 2023. "A Situation-Specific Theory of End-of-Life Communication in Nursing Homes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-22, January.
    5. Ana Patrícia Hilário & Fábio Rafael Augusto, 2022. "Pathways for a ‘Good Death’: Understanding End-of-Life Practices Through An Ethnographic Study in Two Portuguese Palliative Care Units," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 27(2), pages 219-235, June.
    6. Helene Åvik Persson & Gerd Ahlström & Anna Ekwall, 2021. "Professionals’ Expectations and Preparedness to Implement Knowledge-Based Palliative Care at Nursing Homes before an Educational Intervention: A Focus Group Interview Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-18, August.
    7. Francesc X. Marin-Gomez & Jacobo Mendioroz-Peña & Miguel-Angel Mayer & Leonardo Méndez-Boo & Núria Mora & Eduardo Hermosilla & Ermengol Coma & Josep-Maria Vilaseca & Angela Leis & Manolo Medina & Quer, 2022. "Comparing the Clinical Characteristics and Mortality of Residential and Non-Residential Older People with COVID-19: Retrospective Observational Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-18, January.
    8. Leeson, George W., 2019. "The ageing and de-institutionalisation of death—Evidence from England and Wales," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(4), pages 435-439.
    9. Emni Omar Daw Hussin & Li Ping Wong & Mei Chan Chong & Pathmawathi Subramanian, 2018. "Nurses’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators and their associations with the quality of end‐of‐life care," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3-4), pages 688-702, February.
    10. Chabot, Boudewijn E. & Goedhart, Arnold, 2009. "A survey of self-directed dying attended by proxies in the Dutch population," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 1745-1751, May.
    11. Cara Bailey & Alistair Hewison & Eleni Karasouli & Sophie Staniszewska & Daniel Munday, 2016. "Hospital care following emergency admission: a critical incident case study of the experiences of patients with advanced lung cancer and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(15-16), pages 2168-2179, August.
    12. Teggi, Diana, 2020. "Care homes as hospices for the prevalent form of dying: An analysis of long-term care provision towards the end of life in England," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    13. Liz Crowe & Val Quinn & Lesley Chenoweth & Sanjeewa Kularatna & Jenny Boddy & Amanda J. Wheeler, 2015. "Advance Care Planning for Older Australians Living in the Community," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(2), pages 21582440155, June.
    14. Gott, M. & Small, Neil & Barnes, Sarah & Payne, Sheila & Seamark, David, 2008. "Older people's views of a good death in heart failure: Implications for palliative care provision," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(7), pages 1113-1121, October.
    15. Iedema, Rick & Sorensen, Roslyn & Braithwaite, Jeffrey & Flabouris, Arthas & Turnbull, Liz, 2005. "The teleo-affective limits of end-of-life care in the intensive care unit," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(4), pages 845-857, February.
    16. Broom, Alex & Cavenagh, John, 2010. "Masculinity, moralities and being cared for: An exploration of experiences of living and dying in a hospice," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(5), pages 869-876, September.
    17. İlkay Unay-Gailhard & Mark A. Brennen, 2022. "How digital communications contribute to shaping the career paths of youth: a review study focused on farming as a career option," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1491-1508, December.
    18. Mahin Ghafari & Vali Baigi & Zahra Cheraghi & Amin Doosti-Irani, 2016. "The Prevalence of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Iranian Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(6), pages 1-10, June.
    19. Santos Urbina & Sofía Villatoro & Jesús Salinas, 2021. "Self-Regulated Learning and Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments in Higher Education: A Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-12, June.
    20. Nadine Desrochers & Adèle Paul‐Hus & Jen Pecoskie, 2017. "Five decades of gratitude: A meta‐synthesis of acknowledgments research," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 68(12), pages 2821-2833, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:293:y:2022:i:c:s0277953621009795. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.