How should we talk about palliative care, death and dying? A qualitative study exploring perspectives from caregivers of people with advanced cancer

Abstract

Background: Health professionals commonly underestimate caregiver needs for information about palliative care, death and dying and may feel poorly prepared to discuss these issues. Few studies have sought caregiver perspectives of these communication practices. Aim: To explore caregiver perspectives on communication about death, dying and the introduction to palliative care, with a view towards a series of caregiver-informed recommendations for use in clinical practice. Design: Cross-sectional, prospective, exploratory qualitative design, involving narrative-style interviews and underpinned by an interpretative phenomenological framework. Setting/participants: Purposively sampled, English-sp..