Centre for Policy on Ageing



Perceptions of a 'good' death — a comparative study of the views of hospice staff and patients
Author(s)	S A Payne, A Langley-Evans, R Hillier
Journal title	Palliative Medicine, vol 10, 1996
Pages	pp 307-312
Keywords	Death ; Dying ; Terminal care ; Attitude ; Qualitative Studies.
Annotation	The literature suggests that health professionals working in palliative care have developed an idealised concept of dying which has been labelled the "good" death. This paper reports results of a preliminary qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews, comparing the concepts of a "good" death used by patients and staff in a palliative care unit. There were major differences between the views of patients and staff. Patients' descriptions of a "good death" included dying in one's sleep, dying quietly with dignity, being pain free, and dying suddenly. Staff characterised a "good death" in terms of adequate symptom control, family involvement, peacefulness and lack of distress, while a "bad death" was described as involving uncontrollable symptoms, lack of acceptance, and being young. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-010327211 A
Classmark	CW: CX: LV: DP: 3DP *
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.