Patterns of Communication About Serious Illness in the Years, Months, and Days before Death
Tranberg, Mattias LU
; Jacobsen, Juliet
LU
; Fürst, Carl Johan
LU
; Engellau, Jacob
and Schelin, Maria E C
LU
(2022)
In Palliative Medicine Reports
3(1).
p.116-122
- Abstract
Background: Communication with patients and families about serious illness impacts quality of life and helps facilitate decision-making.
Objective: To elucidate the pattern of communication about serious illness for patients who have died in an inpatient setting.
Design: Three hundred patients from the Swedish Registry of Palliative Care 2015-2017 were randomly selected for manual chart review.
Setting: Patients who died in a palliative care, oncology, or internal medicine unit in Sweden were selected.
Measurements: We report on the frequency of conversations at three time points, 6 months or longer before death ("Years"), 15 days-6 months before death ("Months"), and 0-14 days before death ("Days"). We also... (More)
Background: Communication with patients and families about serious illness impacts quality of life and helps facilitate decision-making.
Objective: To elucidate the pattern of communication about serious illness for patients who have died in an inpatient setting.
Design: Three hundred patients from the Swedish Registry of Palliative Care 2015-2017 were randomly selected for manual chart review.
Setting: Patients who died in a palliative care, oncology, or internal medicine unit in Sweden were selected.
Measurements: We report on the frequency of conversations at three time points, 6 months or longer before death ("Years"), 15 days-6 months before death ("Months"), and 0-14 days before death ("Days"). We also report the timing of the conversation about dying.
Results: A total of 249 patients were included after exclusions; they had an average of 2.1 conversations (range 1-6). The first conversation took place a median of 53 days before death and the last conversation took place a median of 9 days before death. Separate conversations with the next of kin took place a median of two days before death. We could verify a conversation about dying in only 156/249 (63%) medical records.
Conclusions: Communication about serious illness between clinicians, patients, and families occurs iteratively over a period before death. Measuring the quality of communication about serious illness using a years, months, and days framework may help ensure that patients and families have sufficient information for medical and personal decision making.
(Less)
- author
- Tranberg, Mattias
LU
; Jacobsen, Juliet
LU
; Fürst, Carl Johan
LU
; Engellau, Jacob
and Schelin, Maria E C
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022-08-04
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- communication, end of life, patients, physicians, serious illness, transition
- in
- Palliative Medicine Reports
- volume
- 3
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 116 - 122
- publisher
- Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:36059906
- scopus:85137956075
- ISSN
- 2689-2820
- DOI
- 10.1089/pmr.2022.0024
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- f38ad51b-3837-4b33-8f6d-a39ce0767ff0
- date added to LUP
- 2022-09-20 13:27:39
- date last changed
- 2024-06-14 17:34:16
@article{f38ad51b-3837-4b33-8f6d-a39ce0767ff0,
abstract = {{<p>Background: Communication with patients and families about serious illness impacts quality of life and helps facilitate decision-making.</p><p>Objective: To elucidate the pattern of communication about serious illness for patients who have died in an inpatient setting.</p><p>Design: Three hundred patients from the Swedish Registry of Palliative Care 2015-2017 were randomly selected for manual chart review.</p><p>Setting: Patients who died in a palliative care, oncology, or internal medicine unit in Sweden were selected.</p><p>Measurements: We report on the frequency of conversations at three time points, 6 months or longer before death ("Years"), 15 days-6 months before death ("Months"), and 0-14 days before death ("Days"). We also report the timing of the conversation about dying.</p><p>Results: A total of 249 patients were included after exclusions; they had an average of 2.1 conversations (range 1-6). The first conversation took place a median of 53 days before death and the last conversation took place a median of 9 days before death. Separate conversations with the next of kin took place a median of two days before death. We could verify a conversation about dying in only 156/249 (63%) medical records.</p><p>Conclusions: Communication about serious illness between clinicians, patients, and families occurs iteratively over a period before death. Measuring the quality of communication about serious illness using a years, months, and days framework may help ensure that patients and families have sufficient information for medical and personal decision making.</p>}},
author = {{Tranberg, Mattias and Jacobsen, Juliet and Fürst, Carl Johan and Engellau, Jacob and Schelin, Maria E C}},
issn = {{2689-2820}},
keywords = {{communication; end of life; patients; physicians; serious illness; transition}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{08}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{116--122}},
publisher = {{Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.}},
series = {{Palliative Medicine Reports}},
title = {{Patterns of Communication About Serious Illness in the Years, Months, and Days before Death}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/pmr.2022.0024}},
doi = {{10.1089/pmr.2022.0024}},
volume = {{3}},
year = {{2022}},
}