TY - JOUR
T1 - Communication in palliative care
T2 - talking about the end of life, before the end of life
AU - Brighton, Lisa Jane
AU - Bristowe, Katherine
N1 - Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/
PY - 2016/8
Y1 - 2016/8
N2 - Increasing evidence demonstrates the benefits of early end-of-life care discussions with patients with life-threatening illness and their families. However, these conversations often do not occur. This review explores some of the many barriers faced by clinicians in relation to end-of-life care discussions, including prognostic uncertainty, fear of causing distress, navigating patient readiness and feeling unprepared for these conversations. The value of core clinical communication skills, potential strategies for improvement and areas for future research are also discussed. It is essential that clinicians offer patients facing life-threatening illness, and those close to them, the opportunity to discuss end-of-life issues in line with their information and decision-making preferences. With a growing and ageing global population, supporting both generalist and specialist providers of palliative care in this task is key. With careful preparation, fears of undertaking these discussions should not be a barrier to initiating them.
AB - Increasing evidence demonstrates the benefits of early end-of-life care discussions with patients with life-threatening illness and their families. However, these conversations often do not occur. This review explores some of the many barriers faced by clinicians in relation to end-of-life care discussions, including prognostic uncertainty, fear of causing distress, navigating patient readiness and feeling unprepared for these conversations. The value of core clinical communication skills, potential strategies for improvement and areas for future research are also discussed. It is essential that clinicians offer patients facing life-threatening illness, and those close to them, the opportunity to discuss end-of-life issues in line with their information and decision-making preferences. With a growing and ageing global population, supporting both generalist and specialist providers of palliative care in this task is key. With careful preparation, fears of undertaking these discussions should not be a barrier to initiating them.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84966605848&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/postgradmedj-2015-133368
DO - 10.1136/postgradmedj-2015-133368
M3 - Article
C2 - 27153866
SN - 0032-5473
VL - 92
SP - 466
EP - 470
JO - Postgraduate Medical Journal
JF - Postgraduate Medical Journal
IS - 1090
ER -
