Defining end-of-life care from perspectives of nursing ethics

Nurs Ethics. 2012 Sep;19(5):608-18. doi: 10.1177/0969733011436205.

Abstract

Despite increasing interests and urgent needs for quality end-of-life care, there is no exact definition of what is the interval referred to as end of life or what end-of-life care is. The purpose of this article is to report our examination of terms related to end-of-life care and define end-of-life care from nursing ethics perspectives. Current terms related to end-of-life care, such as terminal care, hospice care, and palliative care, are based on a medical model and are restrictive in terms of diagnosis and prognosis. Using codes of ethics for nurses as a framework, we attempt to identify people to whom nurses are responsible to provide end-of-life care and develop a definition of end-of-life care that is more inclusive and applicable to a broader range of people who would benefit from end-of-life care by nurses and other health-care providers.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
  • Ethics, Nursing*
  • HIV Infections / therapy
  • Hospice Care / ethics*
  • Humans
  • International Council of Nurses
  • Japan
  • Models, Nursing
  • Neoplasms / therapy
  • Nurse's Role
  • Nursing Care / standards*
  • Palliative Care
  • Practice Patterns, Nurses'
  • Terminal Care* / ethics
  • Terminology as Topic*