Terminally Ill
Conditions
Keywords
Communication, Health personnel, Terminally ill, Adult
Brief summary
The goal of this observational study is to explore experiences and perceptions of end-of-life communication in Chinese terminally ill patients, families and healthcare providers. The main question it aims to answer is: • What are the experiences and perceptions of end-of-life communication in Chinese terminally ill patients, families and healthcare providers? Participants will be invited to either semi-structured in-depth interviews or focus group discussions to share their thoughts.
Detailed description
Objectives: To explore stakeholders' (patients, families and healthcare providers) experiences and perceptions of end-of-life communication in China; and understand culturally appropriate communication strategies. Design and subjects: This study is a qualitative study. Eligible patients, family caregivers and healthcare providers will be recruited in two hospitals. Purposive sampling methods will be adopted. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with patients and family caregivers will be conducted respectively. Focus group discussions will be arranged with healthcare providers, allowing them to discuss end-of-life communication and generate group interactions and creative thinking. Data analysis: The data analysis will be an iterative, cyclic and self-reflective process. Using inductive thematic analysis, common themes and categories will be determined through inductive reasoning and constant comparison. Expected results: The study will fill the gap of no empirical evidence on end-of-life communication strategies from a Chinese perspective and enrich the knowledge about end-of-life communication.
Interventions
Not Application as this is a qualitative study
Sponsors
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Study design
Observational model
OTHER
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Patients: * Be aged older than 18 years * Have a defined incurable life-limiting illness with a likely life expectancy of fewer than 12 months (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2021), according to the consultation with the patient's physician * Have been informed of disease diagnosis and treatment * Be able to speak Mandarin and express clearly * Be able to provide informed consent Family caregivers: * Be aged older than 18 years * One of the terminally ill patient's primary family caregivers who are familiar with patient's situation, which is defined as lived with or visited patients at least twice a week in the past month * Have been informed of patient's disease diagnosis and treatment * Be able to speak Mandarin * Be able to provide informed consent Healthcare providers: * Be nurses, physicians or other healthcare professionals * Be experienced in providing treatment or care to patients with advanced, life-limiting illnesses (whose likely life expectancies of fewer than 12 months) and family caregivers of such patients for at least five years (Koh et al., 2016) * Consent to participate in the study
Exclusion criteria
Patients and family caregivers: * Severe auditory impairment * Cognitive impairment
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Qualitative data and participants basic information | Through study completion, an average of 12 months | Interviews and focus group discussions will be conducted to collect qualitative data |
Countries
China
Outcome results
None listed