TY - JOUR

T1 - Deathbed Etiquette – The Guide

T2 - A Qualitative Study Exploring the Views of Practitioners on its Introduction into End-of-Life Care Settings

AU - Kragh-Furbo, Mette

AU - French, Maddy

AU - Dunleavy, Lesley

AU - Hancock, Sophie

AU - Sanders, Karen

AU - Doherty, Margaret

AU - Gadoud, Amy

N1 - The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Journal of Palliative Care, ? (?), 2023, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2023 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Journal of Palliative Care page: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/PAL http://journals.sagepub.com/

PY - 2025/4/30

Y1 - 2025/4/30

N2 - Objectives: It is common for relatives to feel uncertain about what to expect at the bedside of a dying loved one. The Centre for the Art of Dying Well together with clinical, academic and communications experts created a ?Deathbed Etiquette? guide offering information and reassurance to relatives. This study explores the views of practitioners with experience in end-of-life care on the guide and how it might be used. Methods: Three online focus groups and nine individual interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 21 participants involved in end-of-life care. Participants were recruited through hospices and social media. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Discussions highlighted the importance of effective communication that normalises experiences of being by the bedside of a dying loved one. Tensions around the use of the words ?death? and ?dying? were identified. Most participants also expressed reservations about the title, with the word ?deathbed? found to be old-fashioned and the word ?etiquette? not capturing the varied experiences of being by the bedside. Overall, however, participants agreed that the guide is useful for ?mythbusting? death and dying. Conclusion: There is a need for communication resources that can support practitioners in having honest and compassionate conversations with relatives in end-of-life care. The ?Deathbed Etiquette? guide is a promising resource to support relatives and healthcare practitioners by providing them with suitable information and helpful phrases. More research is needed on how to implement the guide in healthcare settings.

AB - Objectives: It is common for relatives to feel uncertain about what to expect at the bedside of a dying loved one. The Centre for the Art of Dying Well together with clinical, academic and communications experts created a ?Deathbed Etiquette? guide offering information and reassurance to relatives. This study explores the views of practitioners with experience in end-of-life care on the guide and how it might be used. Methods: Three online focus groups and nine individual interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 21 participants involved in end-of-life care. Participants were recruited through hospices and social media. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Discussions highlighted the importance of effective communication that normalises experiences of being by the bedside of a dying loved one. Tensions around the use of the words ?death? and ?dying? were identified. Most participants also expressed reservations about the title, with the word ?deathbed? found to be old-fashioned and the word ?etiquette? not capturing the varied experiences of being by the bedside. Overall, however, participants agreed that the guide is useful for ?mythbusting? death and dying. Conclusion: There is a need for communication resources that can support practitioners in having honest and compassionate conversations with relatives in end-of-life care. The ?Deathbed Etiquette? guide is a promising resource to support relatives and healthcare practitioners by providing them with suitable information and helpful phrases. More research is needed on how to implement the guide in healthcare settings.

KW - bereavement

KW - communication

KW - death

KW - dying

KW - palliative care

KW - support

U2 - 10.1177/08258597231158325

DO - 10.1177/08258597231158325

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 36803230

VL - 40

SP - 162

EP - 167

JO - Journal of Palliative Care

JF - Journal of Palliative Care

SN - 0825-8597

IS - 2

ER -