• Maryjo Prince-Paul.
• Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA. mxp42@case.edu
• Oncol Nurs Forum. 2008 May 1; 35 (3): 365-71.

Purpose/ObjectivesTo advance understanding of the social well-being domain, a dimension of quality of life, from the perspective of dying individuals.Research ApproachQualitative, hermeneutic, and phenomenologic.SettingPrivate residences in a community setting.Participants8 terminally ill adult patients with cancer, aged 35-75, enrolled in hospice care.Methodologic ApproachIn-depth, semistructured, tape-recorded, and transcribed interviews were analyzed using the Giorgi method.Main Research VariablesSocial well-being and quality of life at the end of life.FindingsSix themes emerged that described the meaning of close personal relationships at the end of life: meaning of relationships with family, friends, and coworkers; meaning of relationships with God or a higher power; loss and gains of role function; love; gratitude; and lessons on living.ConclusionsPatients who were terminally ill with advanced cancer expressed the importance of close personal relationships at the end of life and the need to communicate their importance through love and gratitude. All participants believed that personal relationships were strengthened by the end-of-life experience.InterpretationNurses can support terminally ill patients by understanding the importance of social relationships at the end of life. The relationships may be enhanced when nurses raise patients' conscious awareness of the relationships and encourage them to express their importance.

36 keywords...

hide…