Vol. 17 No. 1 (2013): Journal of Nursing Pensar Enfermagem
Review articles

End of life care in nursing homes: systematic literature review

Ângela Sofia Lopes Simões
RN, MSc, Enfermeira Especialista, Hospital Amato Lusitano

Published 2013-07-03

Keywords

  • end of life care,
  • palliative care,
  • nursing home

How to Cite

Lopes Simões, Ângela S. (2013). End of life care in nursing homes: systematic literature review. Pensar Enfermagem, 17(1), 31–61. https://doi.org/10.56732/pensarenf.v17i1.76

Abstract

For residents of nursing homes, the possibility of death occuring within the facility is high, and most if not all end of life care are provided there, so it is vital to apply the philosophy of palliative care.

Objective: To understand the nature of the end-of-life care in nursing homes and factors that hinder or facilitate the implementation of palliative care in these settings.

Methods: A systematic literature review on end of life care in nursing homes between 2002 and 2012 of the databases consulted. The research protocol that was built allowed us to select 19 papers that constituted the corpus of analysis. 

Results: Through a process of meta-aggregation, the results were aggregated based on similarity of meaning, in a total of 12 categories related to the nature of end of life care in nursing homes: identification of approach to death; holistic care, individualized and continuous care; advance planning; appropriate use of treatments; symptom control; teamwork; proper communication; no hasty transfers; good relationship with family; respect for personality and life story; including the experience of death; not dying alone. It also describes the factors that facilitate (continuous relationship with the resident, continuing relationship, a safe and “homely” environment in which death is experienced naturally) or hinder the end-of-life care, related to residents, professionals, with the care provided and the nursing home itself as an institution.

Conclusions: Through the analysis and interpretation of results we understand that the nature of end-of-life care in nursing homes is complex and multifactorial related to residents, care team, family and the context in which care is provided.

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