A Better Understanding of the Concept "A Good Death": How Do Healthcare Providers Define a Good Death?

OBJECTIVE: The goal of palliative care is to improve quality of life when recovery is no longer possible. The study's objective was to widen our vision of potential (unspoken) needs at the end of life with patients, close relatives, nurses, and general practitioners to aim at more versatile but personal care. The question asked was how important patients, close relatives, and healthcare providers considered the 11 core themes in defining a good death, as described in the 2016 article "Defining a good death" by Meier et al. METHODS: Specific questionnaires for general practitioners, nurses, patients, and family members were distributed in the working area of the regional palliative care network, Aalst-Dendermonde-Ninove, with the cooperation of five local quality groups, two nursing homes, and two groups of home care nurses, and data were analyzed.

RESULTS: Questionnaires were completed by 67 nurses, 57 general practitioners, 16 patients, and 8 family members. Although the 34 subthemes were generally considered important for classifying a death as a good one, there were still significant differences between general practitioners and nurses, men and women, and different age groups. Nurses found 9 of the 34 themes significantly more important than general practitioners. All groups believed a pain-free death was most important. General practitioners, nurses, patients, and close relatives found the following themes important: support of family, respect for patient as an individual, being able to say goodbye, and euthanasia in case of unbearable suffering.

CONCLUSION: In agreement with the patient, medical care should focus on a pain-free situation during the last phase of life and not on exhausting possible treatments to prolong life unnecessarily. Appropriate care at the end of life can be broader, and all 34 subthemes can be important in early healthcare planning. Significant differences between general practitioners and nurses deserve attention because patients and family members expect that healthcare providers will work together as a team.