Bereaved relatives' perspectives of the patient's oral intake towards the end of life: a qualitative study.

Background: Patients approaching death often have a decreasing oral intake, which can be distressing for relatives. Little is known about the relatives' experiences with and perceptions of oral intake at the end of life.

Aim: This study aims to contribute to a more thorough understanding of relatives' concerns regarding decreased oral intake of the patient at the end of life.

Staff perceptions of end-of-life care following implementation of the liverpool care pathway for the dying patient in the acute care setting: a New Zealand perspective.

Background And Methods: Ensuring appropriate palliative and end-of-life (EOL) care in the acute environment is complex and challenging. The Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) aims to support staff to provide holistic EOL care utilizing a structured framework to prompt and guide care. We report on the post-implementation findings of a mixed methodology (survey and focus group [FG] forums) study into staff perceptions of EOL care following the pilot implementation of the LCP into two acute wards.

Complexity in non-pharmacological caregiving activities at the end of life: an international qualitative study.

Background: In late-stage palliative cancer care, relief of distress and optimized well-being become primary treatment goals. Great strides have been made in improving and researching pharmacological treatments for symptom relief; however, little systematic knowledge exists about the range of non-pharmacological caregiving activities (NPCAs) staff use in the last days of a patient's life.

Methods And Findings: Within a European Commission Seventh Framework Programme project to optimize research and clinical care in the last days of life for patients with cancer, OPCARE9, we used a free-listing technique to identify the variety of NPCAs performed in the last days of life.

Issues and needs in end-of-life decision making: an international modified Delphi study.

Background: end-of-life decision making is an important aspect of end-of-life care that can have a significant impact on the process of dying and patients' comfort in the last days of life.

Aim: the aim of our study was to identify issues and considerations in end-of-life decision making, and needs for more evidence among palliative care experts, across countries and professions.

Participants: 90 palliative care experts from nine countries participated in a modified Delphi study.