• Laura M Holdsworth.
• Centre for Health Services Studies, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK l.m.holdsworth@kent.ac.uk.
• Palliat Med. 2015 Oct 1; 29 (9): 834-41.

BackgroundThe way that people die is particularly important to those who are left behind and this memory is not limited to the moment of death, but encompasses the entire end-of-life phase. While a number of attributes for a 'good death' have been identified, less is known about how care providers feature within these conceptualisations.AimThe aim of this article is to describe the end-of-life experience from the point of view of bereaved family carers with particular reference to the role that care providers play in shaping this experience.DesignQualitative interviews carried out as part of a study to evaluate a new rapid response hospice at home service. An interpretive thematic analysis using the Framework approach was used to examine how family carers judge a 'good death' and how care providers feature in the attributes of a 'good death'.Participants And SettingA total of 44 interviews with bereaved family carers from a hospice population in the South East of England.ResultsSix themes were identified as attributes of a good death in which care providers had a key role: social engagement and connection to identity, care provider characteristics and actions, carer's confidence and ability to care, preparation and awareness of death, presentation of the patient at death and support after death for protected grieving.ConclusionCare providers played a much wider role in social aspects of care at the end of life than previously considered.© The Author(s) 2015.

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