Nurses’ Communication With the Families of Patients at the End-of-Life

Abstract

Background Effective communication is important in providing quality care to families at the end-of-life. In the end-of-life situations, the nurses’ views on how to communicate with the family are not well understood. Aim This study was conducted to explore the nurses' experiences of their communication with families of patients at the end-of-life situations. Methods The authors used standards for reporting qualitative research. The data were analyzed by conventional content analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 Iranian nurses who had the experiences of dealing with patients’ families at the end-of-life. Results Nurses’ perceptions of communication with families emerged base on the main theme: “Disrupted communication” consisting of two categories: “restricted communication” and “abortive communication.” Conclusion The results of this study highlight the need to increase the professional and ethical sensitivity of nurses in dealing with patients' families at the end-of-life.