Palliative Care and Social Practice最新文献

{"title":"\"Don't leave us behind\": a qualitative study exploring the feasibility of a palliative care training program for non-health caregivers in Honduras.","authors":"Sheryl Ruiz, Martin Stafström, Leda Parham, Luis Orellana","doi":"10.1177/26323524251316897","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524251316897","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Palliative care (PC) can alleviate suffering and improve quality of life. Yet, disparities persist, particularly in Honduras. Training efforts in PC for non-health caregivers have proven to reduce burnout and stress while enhancing the quality of life for both caregivers and patients.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This study aimed to explore the feasibility of a PC training program for non-health caregivers in Honduras.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This exploratory study utilized latent content analysis within an interpretivist paradigm. Data was collected through individual semi-structured interviews with 25 participants belonging to different key groups: patients diagnosed with cancer, non-health caregivers, PC experts, and health-related decision makers. Interviews were conducted in Honduras' three main cities: Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, and La Ceiba. The sampling technique employed was maximum variation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>PC patients and caregivers face significant emotional challenges, often worsened by poverty and resource limitations, which leads to a strain in family dynamics. A lack of education, driven by inadequate healthcare education and policies, contributes to widespread misconceptions about PC. However, progress through various sectors aligned with the same goals proves Honduras is a country with potential. A program with a bottom-up approach, with intersectoral collaboration and training tailored to the needs of caregivers and patients, is urgently needed.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>It highlights the feasibility, necessity, and potential replicability of implementing a PC training program for non-health caregivers in Honduras, which could offer significant benefits at both individual and national levels. A program that truly accounts for health determinants may help mitigate PC shortages in similar regions. Further research and policy advocacy are essential to empower underserved populations and foster health equity across low- and middle-income settings, to ensure no one is left behind.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"19 ","pages":"26323524251316897"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11803733/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143383853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, and Correlates in Palliative and End-of-Life Care: Quantitative Insights from Final-Year Nursing and Medical Students in a Mixed-Methods Study.","authors":"Germanus Natuhwera, Eve Namisango, Peter Ellis","doi":"10.1177/26323524251316901","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524251316901","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>About a decade after the introduction of palliative care teaching for undergraduate nurses and medical students in Uganda, no research has examined students' knowledge and self-efficacy to provide palliative and end-of-life care and their correlates.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>To: (1) estimate final-year undergraduate nursing and medical students' knowledge of and self-efficacy to provide palliative and end-of-life care, (2) identify correlates of knowledge and self-efficacy to provide palliative and end-of-life care.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>A multicentre cross-sectional quantitative study.</p><p><strong>Setting/participants: </strong>Final-year undergraduate medical and nursing students in eight medical and nursing schools in Uganda. Instruments included biodata sheet, the Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing questionnaire and the Palliative Care Self-Efficacy scale. Statistical analyses were performed using STATA version 14.0.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The mean age of the participants (<i>n</i> = 466) was 24.45 ± 3.31 years. Participants' knowledge of palliative care scores was low in all domains 'Philosophy and principles of palliative care' 1.46 ± 0.93 (range: 0-4), 'Psychosocial and spiritual care' 0.61 ± 0.73 (range: 0-3) and 'Management of pain and other symptoms' 6.32 ± 1.75 (range: 0-13). Predictors of knowledge were Gender (<i>p</i> = 0.0242), course of study (<i>p</i> = 0.0001) and religion (<i>p</i> = 0.0338). Participants had very low self-efficacy scores in the three domains of the Palliative Care Self-Efficacy scale.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Participants generally demonstrated limited knowledge and insufficient self-efficacy in providing palliative and end-of-life care. There is a need to integrate and strengthen practical, pedagogical and experiential teaching, review the palliative care curriculum. Future evaluative, longitudinal and interventional as well as qualitative studies are needed to gain deeper insights into this topic.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"19 ","pages":"26323524251316901"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11803644/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143383856","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Key challenges in providing assisted dying in Belgium: a qualitative analysis of health professionals' experiences.","authors":"Madeleine Archer, Lindy Willmott, Kenneth Chambaere, Luc Deliens, Ben P White","doi":"10.1177/26323524251318044","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524251318044","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Assisted dying or 'euthanasia' has been legal in Belgium since 2002. Extensive research has been conducted which investigates Belgian euthanasia practice, however, the current challenges that health professionals face when providing euthanasia are not well known. This knowledge is important for evaluating the current system, especially in light of recent developments in Belgian euthanasia law and practice including judicial decisions, legislative amendments and research highlighting the complexity of its governing regulatory framework.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study investigates the key challenges that health professionals experience when providing euthanasia in Belgium.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>A qualitative interview study with reflexive thematic analysis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twenty interviews were conducted between September 2022 and March 2024 using Microsoft Teams videoconferencing. Eligible participants were physicians and nurses who spoke English or Dutch and who had been involved in the euthanasia assessment of at least two patients in the past year.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Four themes were generated: (1) the framing of the euthanasia legislation poses challenges; (2) providing euthanasia can place considerable burdens on health professionals; (3) clashing views about euthanasia can hamper opportunities for balanced discussions and (4) euthanasia and processes relating to euthanasia are not always well-understood.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study highlights the numerous and varied challenges physicians and nurses experience when providing euthanasia in Belgium, even 20 years after its law passing. This study contributes to a wider understanding of universal challenges associated with providing assisted dying and sheds light on issues specific to Belgium. The results provide an opportunity for policymakers to take action to better support providers to manage these challenges, including through a formal review of the legislation and the broader system.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"19 ","pages":"26323524251318044"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11803728/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143383855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Individual characteristics influencing the general population's level of knowledge of end-of-life practices: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Diane Tapp, Gina Bravo, Catherine Filion, Vincent Couture, Sophie Dupéré, Marianne Beaulieu, Audrey Chouinard, Pauline Roos, Marie-Pierre Gagnon, Anouk Bérubé, Ariane Plaisance","doi":"10.1177/26323524241312922","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524241312922","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Informed end-of-life decision-making requires a high level of death literacy. We still know little about the general population's level of knowledge and its determinants.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To assess knowledge of the general population regarding the legal status and definitions of various end-of-life practices, and to compare the level of knowledge according to individual characteristics known to influence death literacy.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>A self-administered questionnaire featuring two evolving vignettes was used to assess participants' knowledge relating to the legal status of various end-of-life practices and whether these practices are Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD), which is legal in Canada. The questionnaire also assessed participants' individual characteristics such as their experience as caregivers for someone who received palliative care, their perception of health, and their financial situation.</p><p><strong>Setting/participants: </strong>Participants were community-based community-based Canadian adults able to read French or English.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 27% of the participants associated the description of care withholding with MAiD, 39% incorrectly associated the description of continuous palliative sedation with MAiD, and 34% incorrectly indicated that the described intervention was illegal. Having cared for someone who received palliative care, at a younger age, a higher level of education, and having participated in advance care planning were associated with better knowledge regarding end-of-life practices.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Gaps in knowledge about end-of-life practices exist in the general population, they are associated with different individual characteristics and may limit citizens' capacity to engage in informed end-of-life decision-making. Community-based interventions adapted to different audiences are essential to ensure a quality end-of-life for all.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"19 ","pages":"26323524241312922"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11770702/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143053803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing and comparing compassionate communities benefits across cities in diverse cultural contexts: a step toward the identification of the most important ones.","authors":"Valentina González-Jaramillo, Alicia Krikorian, Vilma Tripodoro, Margarita Jorge, Sebastián Orellana, Francy López, Maria Clara Vélez, Tatiana Noguera, Silvina Montilla, Sibylle Felber, Sofía C Zambrano, Steffen Eychmüller","doi":"10.1177/26323524251314899","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524251314899","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>As Compassionate Communities (CCs) are developing worldwide, there is a growing need to systematically assess if they are having the expected effects on the community. Although having a single strategy would be ideal in terms of standardization and comparison, due to the inherent heterogeneity of CCs, it is not known how feasible this would be.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To assess the feasibility of creating a general strategy, based on the results of a series of focus groups conducted across three diverse CCs, to guide the evaluation of already existing programs and the development of new ones.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Focus groups in three cities, including different types of stakeholders, were conducted to identify potential outcomes (benefits) from CCs, as the base of a general strategy to assess CCs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We coded the discussions and built a list of the outcomes mentioned. Then, we merged those similar enough into a more general one that encompassed the others. We extracted from reviews all the CCs outcomes that have been measured. We merged the outcomes from the focus groups and the reviews and built a single list.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We obtained a final list of 46 outcomes; 44 were reported from the focus groups, and two more were added from the reviews. Of the 44 from the focus groups, 22 (50%) were present in the three CCs, 14(32%) were present in two CCs, and the remaining 8 (18%) were present only in one compassionate community. There were outcomes commonly reported both in the three CCs and in the literature reviews related to training the general community in compassion and end-of-life topics, facilitating the development of community networks, and generating public spaces for social integration.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Half of the identified outcomes were reported in the three CCs. This indicates the feasibility of creating a single strategy but also reflects the need to leave room to include other aspects specific to each community according to its context in the assessment.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"19 ","pages":"26323524251314899"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11770713/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143053702","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Important factors in municipality-based pediatric palliation from healthcare professionals' perspective: A qualitative study.","authors":"Kristin Skjærseth, Natalie Preminger, May Aasebø Hauken","doi":"10.1177/26323524241312915","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524241312915","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Municipality-based pediatric palliative care (PPC) is recommended to promote the quality of life for the child and family by enabling them to stay at home as much as possible. However, municipality-based PPC presents complex challenges and places significant demands on healthcare professionals. Yet, it remains an underexplored field.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Semi-structured and individual interviews with 16 healthcare professionals with experiences from PPC were conducted and transcribed. Data was analyzed using systematic text condensation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>To increase the knowledge base and understanding of important factors for municipality-based PPC from healthcare professionals' perspective.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>A qualitative method with an interpretive descriptive design was applied.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The bridging theme \"Establishing a sense of security and predictability for the family and healthcare professionals\" emerged from the analysis. This was elaborated by three main themes: (1) \"A comprehensive approach to the family,\" (2) \"Establishing and maintaining a dedicated, multidisciplinary pediatric palliative team in the municipality,\" and (3) \"Collaboration and communication between involved services.\" Each main theme was further elaborated by subthemes.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The importance of establishing security and predictability in municipality-based PPC was emphasized. To achieve this, holistic support for the entire family and ensuring sufficient competence in the municipality seem crucial. Establishing municipality PPC teams is proposed, and the need for early referral, routines for collaboration, and a designated coordinator appear to be key systemic factors.</p><p><strong>Registration and reporting guidelines: </strong>The study is registered in the institutional system for research project (RETTE ID: R2082), and the study is reported according to the COREQ checklist for qualitative studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"19 ","pages":"26323524241312915"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11770719/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143053800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integration of social work into specialist palliative home service.","authors":"Janice Lee Wartchow, Stefan Bär, Bernd Alt-Epping, Christina Gerlach","doi":"10.1177/26323524241310457","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524241310457","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The specialist palliative home service (SAPV) federal framework contract for adults, to be enacted in Germany until 2028, does not legally mandate the hiring of a third professional group beyond specialist nurses and physicians, although palliative care embraces the psychosocial dimension and an interprofessional approach.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This article aims to explore the role of medical staff in integrating social work (SW) into SAPV.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Qualitative case study.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study utilised theoretical and qualitative quota sampling to explore barriers to integrating SW into SAPV-teams, ensuring diverse perspectives. Sequential analysis was applied to uncover collective interpretations, generating and validating interpretive hypotheses directly from the data.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Four physicians and four nurses from the SAPV-team based at Heidelberg University Hospital participated. The medical staff's attributions to SW significantly impact its integration into SAPV. Their perception of the SW profession determines the extent and manner of its integration into daily practices. Attributions on SW in SAPV as determined by nurses and physicians were social-medical knowledge, counselling, being a core competence in SAPV and similarities to the profession of psychologists. In the examined case, the integration was effective, and there was a desire for an increased presence of SW because there is still a lack of their working hours, and the medical staff wished for the social workers' presence during home visits.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study highlights that SAPV requires SW to be effective, nonetheless, not being considered in the new federal contract to allocate resources. Possible barriers against the integration of SW within the real-world clinical practice of palliative care should be further investigated in future studies by involving social workers' and healthcare managers' experiences and strategies to understand why the employment of social workers in SAPV is progressing slowly and inform strategies to enhance their integration.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"19 ","pages":"26323524241310457"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11770773/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143053806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The process of pain assessment in people with dementia living in nursing homes: a scoping review.","authors":"Caroline Kreppen Overen, Maria Larsson, Adelheid Hummelvoll Hillestad, Ingela Karlsson, Siren Eriksen","doi":"10.1177/26323524241308589","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524241308589","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Pain is a common symptom in people with dementia living in nursing homes, but cognitive impairment, including language and communication difficulties, challenges pain assessment and the ability to self-report pain.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to identify and summarize patterns, advances, and gaps in research literature describing pain assessment in people with dementia living in nursing homes.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>We conducted a scoping review following Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Systematic searches were conducted in CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO. We included studies describing pain expressions in people with dementia and/or healthcare personnel assessment of pain in people with dementia, in a nursing home context. Charted data included demographics, methodological descriptions, ethical and quality assessment and relevant findings. Relevant findings were summarized using thematic analysis, and an overview of patterns, advances, and gaps in the research literature is presented.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Thirty-nine studies were included. The results describe three patterns: (1) pain awareness; (2) suspected pain and (3) pain mapping. Collectively, these patterns constitute a process of pain assessment, integrating pain expressions of people with dementia. Important perspectives on self-reporting are touched upon in several of the included studies, though direct descriptions of attempts to capture the residents' own experience of pain are sparse.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This scoping review provides a comprehensive description of pain assessment in people with dementia living in nursing homes as a process in three steps. We identified several knowledge gaps in the understanding of this process and provide concrete recommendations for further research. The results underpin the importance of pain assessment approaches that incorporate the flexibility to meet residents' varying and potentially fluctuating ways of communicating pain.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>This scoping review is registered in the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/8kaf5/).</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"19 ","pages":"26323524241308589"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11705334/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142956331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Harsh God.","authors":"M M O'Brien, Mary Fraser","doi":"10.1177/26323524241310258","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/26323524241310258","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"19 ","pages":"26323524241310258"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11694281/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142932909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Requesting euthanasia or assisted suicide when it is illegal: a qualitative study about relatives' experiences of patients hospitalized in French Palliative Care Units.","authors":"Camille De Cock, Florence Mathieu-Nicot, Hélène Trimaille, Mathilde Giffard, Aline Chassagne","doi":"10.1177/26323524241308267","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524241308267","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In countries where euthanasia and assisted suicide are not allowed, such as France, little is known about how a request for euthanasia and/or assisted suicide, expressed by an end-of-life patient, impacts their relatives.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To understand the experiences of relatives of patients in the advanced stages of a serious illness, hospitalized in a Palliative Care Unit (PCU), and requesting euthanasia or assisted suicide in the French context where these practices are illegal.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>We conducted a qualitative study in five French PCUs over the course of 1 year. Following the principles of grounded theory, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the relatives of patients who had explicitly requested euthanasia or assisted suicide to a healthcare professional. Two interviews were scheduled: the first within 48 h of the initial request (D1), and the second one a week later (D7).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted in-depth face-to-face interviews with relatives of patients requesting euthanasia or assisted suicide, in PCUs within a specific region of France, prior to the French Claeys-Leonetti Law. A thematic analysis of the data was performed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted. Five families (patients and their relatives) were included, and eight relatives were interviewed. The discussions between patients and their relatives about requesting euthanasia or assisted suicide varied significantly from one family to another. Five main themes emerged: denouncing end-of-life conditions; the desire to have a peaceful death; the different levels of support and accompaniment for the request; values in favor of euthanasia and assisted suicide; boundaries and barriers.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Requests for euthanasia and/or assisted suicide are generally understood by relatives. However, receiving and discussing such requests is a challenging and emotionally demanding task, generating significant suffering. All relatives seem to experience some degree of suffering, although its expression varies greatly between individuals. We encourage healthcare professionals to identify the nature of this suffering and to invite patients and their relatives to openly discuss these issues and to proactively address the request.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"18 ","pages":"26323524241308267"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-12-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11672597/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142903712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}