Children's understanding of dying and death: A multinational grounded theory study.

Objectives: The ways in which children understand dying and death remain poorly understood; most studies have been carried out with samples other than persons with an illness. The objective of this study was to understand the process by which children directly involved with life-limiting conditions understand dying and death.

Methods: This qualitative study obtained interview data from  = 44 5-18-year-old children in the USA, Haiti, and Uganda who were pediatric palliative care patients or siblings of patients.

Communication skills for end-of-life nursing care. Teaching strategies from the ELNEC curriculum.

The End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) is a train-the-trainer educational program that helps nursing faculty integrate care of the dying patient and the patient's family into the nursing curriculum. This article presents pedagogical techniques derived from the ELNEC teaching module on communication and key content areas for developing communication skills in end-of-life care. Competent end-of-life nursing care begins with an understanding of communication techniques and their potential impact on care.