Learning Objectives
In this section, the student will:
- Describe end of life issues that may arise with clients and their families, including evaluation of support, ethical concerns, comfort care, and advanced directives
- Identify processes to assist clients who have end of life care needs to navigate the health care system
- Describe care navigation process in assisting clients with end of life concerns and processes
- List caregiver resources for end of life support
Key Resources
From Medline Plus
National Institute of Aging
- Advanced Illness: Holding on and Letting Go (Family Caregiver Alliance)
- End of Life (Supporting a Terminally Ill Loved One) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- End of Life: Helping with Comfort and Care (National Institute on Aging)
- End-of-Life Care for People Who Have Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Available in Spanish
- Last Days of Life (PDQ) (National Cancer Institute) Available in Spanish
- Preparing for the End of Life
(National Institute of Nursing Research)
Related Issues
- Autopsy (American Academy of Family Physicians) Available in Spanish
- Communication with Your Family and Your Doctor about Your Wishes (American College of Emergency Physicians)
- Conversations Before the Crisis: If Talking is So Important, Why Is it So Hard? (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization) – PDF
- Culturally Diverse Communities and End-of-Life Care (American Psychological Association) – PDF
- If You or Someone You Love is Very Ill…Ask Tough Questions (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization) – PDF
- Living Well with a Serious Illness: Talking with Your Doctor When the Future Is Uncertain (American College of Physicians) – PDF
- Look at End-of-Life Care Issues for Native Americans (National Cancer Institute) – PDF
- Offering Spiritual Support for Family or Friends (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization) – PDF
- Planning Your Own Funeral (Federal Trade Commission)
- Shopping for Funeral Services (Federal Trade Commission) Available in Spanish
- Things to Do After Someone Dies (National Institute on Aging)
- Types of Funerals (Federal Trade Commission)
Specifics
- Advanced Illness: Feeding Tubes and Ventilators (Family Caregiver Alliance) Available in Spanish
- Artificial Hydration and Nutrition (American Academy of Family Physicians) Available in Spanish
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) (American Academy of Family Physicians) Available in Spanish
- Coping with Advanced Cancer (National Cancer Institute)
- Dementia at the End of Life (National Institute on Aging)
- End of Life (Caring for a Dying Loved One) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- End of Life Care (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)
- Final Days (Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association) – PDF
- How Can an Emergency Department Assist Patients and Caregivers at the End of Life? (American College of Emergency Physicians)
- Understanding Health Care Decisions (at the End of Life) (National Institute on Aging)
- What Happens When Someone Dies? (National Institute on Aging)
- When You Have Pain at the End of Life (American College of Physicians) – PDF
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Terminal Care (National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: A PIECE OF MY MIND. Where Do You Put the…
- Article: Death With Dignity Provides Options for Patients at the End…
- Article: A Nursing Student Reflects on Death and Dying.
- End of Life Issues — see more articles
- Funeral rites — see more articles
- http://cahs-acss.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Burdens-of-Family-Caregiving-at-the-End-of-Life.pdf
Reference Desk
- Glossary (Center to Advance Palliative Care)
Children
- End-of-Life Care for Children with Terminal Illness (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Available in Spanish
- Grieving the Loss of a Child (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
- When Somebody Dies (Nemours Foundation) Available in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- Deciding about treatments that prolong life Available in Spanish
- Do not resuscitate orders Available in Spanish
- Palliative care – what the final days are like Available in Spanish
Hospice Hospice Foundation of America (HFA)
HFA is a trusted source of information on end of life, hospice care and grief. Throughout this site you will find information about living with advanced life-limiting illness, options for care and helpful resources for caregivers.
