• Karin Jors, Sandra Adami, Carola Xander, Cornelia Meffert, Jan Gaertner, Hubert Bardenheuer, Dieter Buchheidt, Regine Mayer-Steinacker, Marén Viehrig, Wolfang George, and Gerhild Becker.
• Department of Palliative Care, Comprehensive Cancer Center, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
• Cancer. 2014 Oct 15;120(20):3254-60.

BackgroundPrior research has shown that hospitals are often ill-prepared to provide care for dying patients. This study assessed whether the circumstances for dying on cancer center wards allow for a dignified death.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, the authors surveyed physicians and nurses in 16 hospitals belonging to 10 cancer centers in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. A revised questionnaire from a previous study was used, addressing the following topics regarding end-of-life care: structural conditions (ie, rooms, staff), education/training, working environment, family/caregivers, medical treatment, communication with patients, and dignified death.ResultsIn total, 1131 surveys (response rate = 50%) were returned. Half of the participants indicated that they rarely have enough time to care for dying patients, and 55% found the rooms available for dying patients unsatisfactory. Only 19% of respondents felt that they had been well-prepared to care for the dying (physicians = 6%). Palliative care staff reported much better conditions for the dying than staff from other wards (95% of palliative care staff indicated that patients die in dignity on their ward). Generally, physicians perceived the circumstances much more positively than nurses, especially regarding communication and life-prolonging measures. Overall, 57% of respondents believed that patients could die with dignity on their ward.ConclusionsOnly about half of the respondents perceived that a dignified death is possible on their ward. We recommend that cancer centers invest more in staffing, adequate rooms for dying patients, training in end-of-life care, advance-care planning standards, and the early integration of specialist palliative care services.© 2014 American Cancer Society.

21 keywords...

hide…