End-of-Life Care

End-of-Life Care

The end of life for the elderly marks the conclusion of life. Life is characterized by personal life events and environmental events, personality traits, and personal relationships. These characteristics and other conditions that herald death influence the dying experience of geriatric individuals. However, the importance of end-of-life care for geriatrics is frequently ignored or forgotten (Bone et al., 2018). The various obstacles they face are the trauma they undergo, and the changes they go through can be difficult to identify. Therefore, they are not frequently or properly attended to. This reduces the quality of life when approaching the end of life.

Palliative and hospice programs try to improve the quality of life as geriatric patients approach the end of life. A palliative care program is an approach that improves the quality of life of a geriatric and the quality of life of their caregivers (Shalev et al., 2018). It is a multidisciplinary approach where different healthcare team members work together to take care of geriatric patients. Hospice programs come in place when a cure is not possible. They improve the comfort and quality of life of geriatric patients.

Despite implementing these programs, most geriatrics do not die in their place of choice. This is because most of them are separated from their families and friends (Ladin et al., 2018). Family members might be living far away, they may be dead, or they may have neglected the individual. Allowing such a patient home would be difficult because there is no one to take of them. If they are alone, the approach to end of life will be very difficult. The individual will be uncomfortable, and their quality of life will decrease. Another reason is the failure of healthcare providers to tell patients about end-of-life care.

As a nurse, I will provide the geriatric patient with I would identify and treat any symptoms of illness. I will also find out and support the end–of–life wishes of the geriatric individual (Sekse, Hunskår & Ellingsen, 2018). Furthermore, I will provide the patient with physical, spiritual, and emotional support. If possible, I will involve the family and close friends in managing the geriatric patient. This will increase the comfort and quality of life of the patient and the caregivers.

References

Ladin, K., Buttafarro, K., Hahn, E., Koch-Weser, S., & Weiner, D. E. (2018). “End-of-life care? I’m not going to worry about that yet.” Health literacy gaps and end-of-life planning among elderly dialysis patients. The Gerontologist, 58(2), 290-299. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnw267

Sekse, R. J. T., Hunskår, I., & Ellingsen, S. (2018). The nurse’s role in palliative care: A qualitative meta‐synthesis. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(1-2), e21-e38. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13912

Bone, A. E., Gomes, B., Etkind, S. N., Verne, J., Murtagh, F. E., Evans, C. J., & Higginson, I. J. (2018). What is the impact of population ageing on the future provision of end-of-life care? Population-based projections of place of death. Palliative medicine, 32(2), 329-336. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269216317734435

Shalev, A., Phongtankuel, V., Kozlov, E., Shen, M. J., Adelman, R. D., & Reid, M. C. (2018). Awareness and misperceptions of hospice and palliative care: a population-based survey study. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, 35(3), 431-439. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049909117715215

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1b) End-of-life care becomes an issue at some point for elderly patients.
Even with the emergence of palliative care programs and hospice programs, most elderly people do not die in their own homes, as is their preference.

What are the reasons for this trend? Discuss what you can do as a nurse to support your patients regarding end-of-life care in accordance with their wishes. Support your response with evidence-based literature