The language of dying: Communication about end-of-life in residential aged care.

This article explores implications of language used in communicating death and dying in residential aged care, which increasingly emphasizes a "family-centered" approach to end-of-life care. Based on focus groups with care professionals and families, our findings reveal a persistent clinical culture that resists frank discussions of dying, with many staff preferring to use euphemisms for dying. Our results emphasize the importance of end-of-life education for families, which families acknowledged was lacking.

Testing the reliability and validity of a Transition Map for older adults in long term care settings.

Mapping individual patterns of decline in older adults may aid coordinating long term aged care. This study developed a new scale (Transition Maps) to summarise the overall care pathway for long term aged care residents, in a simplified manner incorporating mapping concepts. Transition Maps were developed using mixed methods in two phases, and based on expert opinion, literature review, and input from aged care health professionals.