Komunikacja między lekarzem a rodziną osób u schyłku życia przebywających w placówkach opiekuńczych
End-of-life communication between the physician and the relative of dying nursing home residents

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper was to summarize the current knowledge about the end-of-life (EOL) communication between the physician and the relative of dying nursing home (NH) residents. A review of literature showed that relatives of dying residents reported low satisfaction with quality of communication with a physician. The relatives complained they were not informed about the residents’ condition, did not understand the information provided by the physician and did not participate in the discussion about the residents’ wishes concerning medical treatment. In conclusion, (1) the concept of quality of EOL communication between the physician and the relatives of the dying NH residents still has no well-grounded foundation, (2) the number of tools for evaluation of EOL communication in the NH is limited, (3) physician-family communication is one of the most important aspects of care at the EOL, (4) many factors may influence it, but one of the most important is the availability of a physician in the NHs.

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