The needs of terminally ill patients at home: directing one's life, health and things related to beloved others

This article describes the results of a grounded theory study among terminally ill patients (with a life expectancy of less than three months) at home (n = 13, aged 39-83). The most commonly recurring theme identified in the analysis is 'directing', in the sense of directing a play. From t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Palliative medicine 2004, Vol.18 (1), p.53-61
Main Authors: PROOT, Ireen M, ABU-SAAD, Huda Huijer, TER MEULEN, Ruud H. J, GOLDSTEEN, Minke, SPREEUWENBERG, Cor, WIDDERSHOVEN, Guy A. M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy
Biological and medical sciences
Caregivers - psychology
Carers
Clinical death. Palliative care. Organ gift and preservation
Emergency and intensive cardiocirculatory care. Cardiogenic shock. Coronary intensive care
Families
Female
Health Services Needs and Demand
Humans
Intensive care medicine
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Needs Assessment
Netherlands
Palliative care
Palliative Care - psychology
Qualitative research
Support services
Surveys and Questionnaires
Terminal Care - psychology
Terminally Ill - psychology
Terminally ill people
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This article describes the results of a grounded theory study among terminally ill patients (with a life expectancy of less than three months) at home (n = 13, aged 39-83). The most commonly recurring theme identified in the analysis is 'directing', in the sense of directing a play. From the perspectives of patients in our study, 'directing' concerns three domains: 1) directing one's own life; 2) directing one's own health and health care; and 3) directing things related to beloved others (in the meaning of taking care of beloved ones). The patient's directing is affected by impeding and facilitating circumstances: the patient's needs and problems in the physical, psychological and existential/spiritual domain, and the support by family members and providers. Supporting patients and families, stimulating the patients' directing, giving attention to all domains of needs and counselling patients' families in the terminal phase are issues that need attention and warrant further investigation.
ISSN:0269-2163
1477-030X
DOI:10.1191/0268216304pm818oa