Midterm Paper about Concept for Nursing Theories course Term

Midterm about Concept for Nursing Theories course - Term Paper Example One of the main concerns of end-of-life care is the provision of quality care for end-of-life patients, which can be difficult to define for all involved stakeholders. For the society and many health care professionals, death is a sign of failure, and they are hesitant to allow people to naturally die from their illnesses. End-of-life care is critical, because nurses have to balance conflicting goals, such as helping patients and their families deal with the process of â€Å"letting go† and helping patients experience quality of life, while still living. End-of-life care will also contradict the goal of some patients and their families to extend life, even when illnesses are already terminal. This paper explores the concepts of end of life and end-of-life care and its definitions. It will determine the criteria for the concept of end-of-life, how it is addressed in literature, tools for measuring the concept, antecedents and consequences, and it will also provide three cases f or end of life care. Review of Literature End of Life Concept Karlsson and Berggren (2011) define end of life, as the phase of patient life, where â€Å"curative care is no longer possible† and survival time is considered â€Å"short† (p.374). Epstein (2010) is concerned of end of life’s implications on the quality of caring provided to dying patients. For him, the health care staff should be concerned of end of life’s implications to â€Å"dissatisfaction, conflict, and moral distress† (p.577). It is inferred that he defines â€Å"end of life† as a critical phase of care delivery, as the end of care looms. Reinke et al. (2010) agree with Epstein (2010) and affirm the necessity and urgency of the issue of quality care when end of life is concerned. Reinke et al. (2010) define end of life as the care response to the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs and concerns of dying people (p.753). End-of-Life Care Concept Lippincott Willi ams and Wilkins (2007) define end-of-life care in terms of palliative care, where the latter aims to prevent and relieve suffering and to advance the patient’s comfort and quality of life (p.3). There is no goal of hastening or delaying the patient’s death, and instead, stakeholders accept death as part of the natural cycle of human life (p.3). Poor (2001) also defines end-of-life care as a concept of palliative care, where it refers to the â€Å"comprehensive care of patients with a terminal illness who are nearing the end of life† (p.6). The World Health Organization (WHO) provides a more detailed definition of palliative care: â€Å"the active total care of patients whose disease is not responsive to curative treatment† (as cited in Poor, 2001, p.6). Some of the important goals of palliative care are to control pain and to respond to the psychological, social, and spiritual needs of the patient (Poor, 2001, p.6). The WHO provides the following characte ristics of palliative care: 1) Life and death are normal processes; 2) Death is not delayed or encouraged; 3) Pain control and control of other upsetting symptoms are important; 4) The spiritual and psychological components of care are included in the care plan; 5) There is a support system for patients to live a quality and active life; 6) and there is also support system for the family of the dying patient, so that the former can cope with the upcoming realities of death (as cited in Poor