Palliative Care and Social Practice最新文献

{"title":"Talking about the hypothetical future: Serious illness communication for residents living with dementia in long-term care homes - An integrative review.","authors":"Elizabeth Wojtowicz, Marie-Lee Yous, Pamela Baxter, Sharon Kaasalainen","doi":"10.1177/26323524261462628","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524261462628","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In long-term care (LTC) homes, residents living with dementia frequently experience serious illness communication that is crisis-initiated and oriented to institutional documentation (e.g., transfer and resuscitation orders), rather than iterative, values-based discussions aligned with a palliative approach and substitute decision-making frameworks. Unpaid care partners often make high-stakes decisions with limited preparation, and residents are inconsistently included.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To explore how serious illness communication occurs with residents living with dementia, unpaid care partners, and healthcare providers in LTC, and to identify practice-relevant communication strategies and contextual factors applicable to clinical practice.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An integrative review following Toronto and Remington's six-stage methodology included 31 high-relevance studies (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, reviews, theoretical) published from 2015 to 2025 on serious illness, goals-of-care, or end-of-life communication in LTC dementia care. Directed content analysis was guided by Tarbi et al.'s basic science of communication in serious illness (lexical, non-lexical, contextual elements, and outcomes).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Serious illness communication was predominantly biomedical and documentation-focused, often occurring at admission or during crises and directed mainly to unpaid care partners, with limited resident involvement. Lexical practices such as clear, jargon-free information, explicit invitations to discuss \"what matters most,\" and early conversations about hypothetical future scenarios enhanced trust, preparedness, and alignment of care with resident values. Non-lexical elements (tone, eye contact, pacing, use of silence) shaped perceived empathy but were seldom explicitly addressed by interventions.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>For LTC healthcare providers, embedding earlier, iterative serious illness communication, explicitly involving residents where possible, and cultivating both lexical and non-lexical skills are key to achieving relationship-centred, legally compliant, and goal-concordant palliative approaches to care.​.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"20 ","pages":"26323524261462628"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13305509/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148346668","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":"Research priority setting for unpaid carers of older adults, patients with palliative care needs and at the end of life in Australia.","authors":"Sara Javanparast, Philip Martin, Annie Dullow, Allison Willis, Oluwatomilayo Omoya, Jennifer Tieman","doi":"10.1177/26323524261462959","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524261462959","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Carers are individuals who provide unpaid care to family members and friends with disabilities, medical conditions, mental illness, or who are frail and aged. The contribution of carers to the Australian health, aged care, disability, and social care systems is significant. However, they face high levels of emotional, social, physical, and financial burdens. The Australian Government has recently introduced policy reforms to improve recognition of carers. However, there is limited evidence on research priorities to facilitate the translation of policies into practice.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To involve Australian stakeholders to a) identify evidence gaps and research needs; and b) set research priorities for carers within the context of ageing, palliative care and end of life.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Stakeholder consultation study for research priority setting.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Australian stakeholders with expertise in areas related to carers, aged care, and palliative care were engaged through an online survey, a research roundtable and a focus group to discuss research priorities for carers. The survey qualitative responses, notes from the roundtable, and focus group transcript have been summarised and analysed thematically, using NVivo 14 qualitative software.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Two main considerations as found from the study are 'what to research' and 'how to research' to improve recognition and support of carers in Australia. Research priorities identified include recognition and early identification of carers, timely and equitable access to support services, helping carers navigate services, support during the transition of care, post caring, including grief and bereavement support, evaluation of existing services, and carer self-care and wellbeing. Participants commented on the importance of research that engages carers meaningfully, respectfully, and in a timely and flexible manner to ensure maximum impact.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study guides the design of carer-centred research to facilitate the translation of carer policies into practice. It also assists in evaluating the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and sustainability of existing and new support services.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"20 ","pages":"26323524261462959"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13287418/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148319607","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":"Youth awareness on death and dying in school settings: A scoping review on knowledge and practices.","authors":"Emilie Allard, Clémence Coupat, Dimitri Létourneau, Gabrielle Fortin, Olivia Nguyen, Sabrina Lessard","doi":"10.1177/26323524261461310","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524261461310","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>School is a key setting for a child's cognitive, social, and civic development and may therefore offer a promising space to open dialogue about death and dying. Yet awareness-raising practices on death and dying in schools can be difficult to identify within the abundance of scientific and practical writings. To support school staff and enrich curricula with coherent and context-sensitive approaches, we sought to map existing practices to better understand the levers, barriers, and conditions for success.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To explore the current state of knowledge and practices on awareness about death and dying (ADD) in the school context, and answer these questions: 1) How is ADD addressed in school settings? 2) What are the views of young people, parents, and school personnel on raising ADD? 3) What factors influence such ADD?</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>This scoping review followed Levac's methodology.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Searches were performed in 17 scientific and grey literature databases, complemented by reference tracking and community partners' consultation. Data were charted by research questions and analyzed using content analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>35 writings (2010-2023) were included. Various awareness-raising practices combining multiple activities were identified, emphasizing the value of multimodal approaches that engage cognitive, emotional, and creative dimensions. Interdisciplinary collaboration with community organizations was frequently requested to support ADD practices. Perceptions of ADD were generally positive, though nuances emerged among young people, school personnel and parents. Our results identify numerous factors that influence ADD, span between individual, family, school, and sociocultural levels, showing the multidimensionality and systemic nature of this phenomenon.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>ADD in schools is shaped by its context, such as collaboration between interested parties, teacher training, sensitive practices, and supportive policy frameworks enabling meaningful curricula integration. Without clear political and institutional support, initiatives remain fragile and dependent on isolated actors.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"20 ","pages":"26323524261461310"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13272867/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148279185","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":"'It's given us the opportunity': Patient and clinician experiences of serious illness conversations in the NHS acute setting - Results from a UK Qualitative Study.","authors":"Tamsin McGlinchey, Stephen Mason, Jude Robinson, John Edward Ellershaw","doi":"10.1177/26323524261450637","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524261450637","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Despite legal and ethical commitments to dignified end-of-life care, open communication with seriously ill patients remains inconsistent across the National Health Service (NHS). The Serious Illness Care Programme was implemented in two NHS hospital sites to improve communication and care planning for patients with serious illness.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>Explore the lived experiences of seriously ill patients and their clinicians participating in Serious Illness Conversations.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Qualitative study using a phenomenological approach within an interpretive paradigm. Narrative interviews were undertaken, and Reflexive Thematic Analysis was used to identify patterns of meaning.</p><p><strong>Setting/participants: </strong>Outpatient clinics in two NHS hospital sites: a tertiary cancer centre and a renal unit within a city teaching hospital. Fourteen patients (seven cancer, seven renal failure) and nine clinicians (six oncologists, three nephrologists) were interviewed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The following three interrelated themes were generated from the analysis: (1) Patients described the conversations as '<i>a transformative experience</i>', fostering reflection, practical planning, and reframed hope despite a limited prognosis; (2) Serious Illness Conversations were '<i>different conversations</i>' from routine consultations, with use of the Serious Illness Conversation Guide enabling deeper, more holistic dialogue; however, they were segregated from routine practice; (3) Systemic and cultural barriers hindered these conversations from becoming embedded, perpetuating inequity of access to these conversations: '<i>Systems, Structure, Process: Serious Illness Conversations, epistemic injustice and cultural violence</i>'.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Findings from this study directly challenge the commonly held belief that these conversations are inherently negative to reveal the transformative power of these important and necessary conversations. They opened up different types of conversations, giving patients agency to direct certain aspects of their life. However, their integration into routine practice is hindered by structural and cultural constraints. Addressing these barriers is essential to ensure all patients have equitable access to these conversations.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"20 ","pages":"26323524261450637"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13265982/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148266487","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":"What makes serious illness conversations acceptable? A mixed-methods study of patient and caregiver experiences in oncology and cardiology.","authors":"Alston Ng, Su-Min Yeo, Shirlyn Hui-Shan Neo","doi":"10.1177/26323524261460927","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524261460927","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to identify how contextual, dispositional, and relational factors intersect to shape the participant experience of serious illness conversations (SICs) while exploring the nuances of appraisal across different clinical specialties.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A convergent parallel mixed-methods study was conducted as part of a Serious Illness Care Programme pilot at two Singaporean tertiary centres. Participants with advanced cancer or heart failure were recruited from oncology, cardiology, and palliative medicine clinics. We conducted semi-structured interviews and a Patient Experience Survey (PES) that explored participants views on their communication experience. .Qualitative data were analysed via a case-based thematic approach. Findings were summarized by coders into experience categories of \"Good,\" \"Moderate,\" or \"Poor.\" Quantitative comparisons between patient-reported PES scores and coder-assigned ratings were performed using the Kruskal-Wallis rank-sum test.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Forty participants were recruited (33 patients, 7 caregivers), with 32 (26 patients, 6 caregivers) completing interviews, and 24 patients completing the PES. Among interviewed patients, 19 had advanced cancer and 7 had heart failure. While 96% of patients rated their SICs as \"mostly\" or \"extremely\" worthwhile in the PES, qualitative analysis revealed a complex landscape of acceptance, ambivalence, and distress. Discrepancies between patient-reported and coder-assigned ratings indicated that participants appraised encounters as \"Worthwhile\" even when experiencing significant distress. Four themes were identified as primary influences on participant experience: subjective illness understandings, clinician conversational practices, personal readiness, and relational dynamics. The analysis suggests that trust established through longitudinal therapeutic relationships functioned as a buffer against negative appraisals, offer a possible explanation for why \"Worthwhile\" scores remained largely experience-invariant.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study demonstrates that SIC acceptability is a dynamic appraisal refracted through subjective illness understandings and relational contexts. Future research should investigate specific communicative mechanisms that foster affective readiness and rapport, ensuring that serious illness communication aligns with, rather than disrupts, patient and caregiver expectations of healthcare communication.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"20 ","pages":"26323524261460927"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13263495/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148253609","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":"Strategies used by organizations to scale deep: Lessons from a volunteer navigation intervention.","authors":"Gloria Puurveen, Kelly Ashford, Barbara Pesut","doi":"10.1177/26323524261460925","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524261460925","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>We know little about how non-profit organizations create the conditions within their communities that support sustainable change - a process that has been referred to as scaling deep. In this paper we explore the implementation of a volunteer community-based navigation program, within 46 community-based organizations, to better understand how organizations seek to create the cultural and relational conditions to support sustainable change.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To examine the strategies organizations used to scale deeply during a volunteer navigation (Nav-CARE) program implementation.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Qualitative descriptive interview study.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A qualitative descriptive study using semi-structured interviews conducted with key informants (n=30) exploring approaches used to scale deeply during program implementation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Informants described ways in which they raised the visibility of the program, used mindful messaging, deepened relationships, and expanded the possibilities of their organizational mandate. Community-specific dissemination strategies and a heavy emphasis on face-to-face interpersonal interactions were integral to raising program visibility. Messaging was sensitive to cultural and historical tensions, avoided negative or needs-based language, emphasized strength-based volunteer recruitment and drew upon ideas of collaboration rather than competition. Developing trust at all levels, both within and beyond the organization, was foundational to deepening relationships. Providing practical assistance, becoming a connecting point to other community partners, and demonstrating how they were driving policy change were important to expanding the possibilities of their organizational mandate.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Scaling deep for these organizations went beyond changing values and beliefs specific to the innovation. Rather, these organizations focused at a more fundamental level on: developing relationships of trust within and beyond their organization, emphasizing that community members needed one another, and demonstrating that their organization had a vital contribution to the overall well-being of the community. Such an approach had important implications for how organizations must \"play the long-game\" to effectively scale and embed social innovation.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"20 ","pages":"26323524261460925"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13260783/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148253595","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":"Cost impact of in-patient specialist palliative care: A retrospective economic study of administrative end-of-life hospital costs across 7 years in Switzerland.","authors":"Monika Hagemann, Matthias Schwenkglenks, Odile Stalder, Steffen Eychmüller, Maud Maessen","doi":"10.1177/26323524261452273","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524261452273","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>While healthcare costs continue to grow, an aging population along with rising chronic diseases are increasing demand for high-quality end-of-life care.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>Our objectives include calculating hospital cost sub-categories, such as laboratory, medication, nursing, physician, and social counseling, and evaluating the economic impact of specialist palliative care (sPC) on overall hospital costs per stay and per day of severely ill and dying patients who died at a Swiss university hospital between 2016 and 2022.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Retrospective, observational cohort study with a control group.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used administrative cost data from the final hospitalization of patients who died at a university hospital in Switzerland. We compared hospital costs of patients receiving care, including sPC, with those of individuals receiving usual care (UC). We defined timely sPC referral as initiating within 3 days of admission. We used a generalized linear model-assuming gamma-distributed errors and with a logarithmic link function-adjusted by inverse probability weighting to adjust for patient characteristics differences.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Adjusted overall hospital costs per stay were higher for sPC (Swiss francs (CHF) 31,350 (95% confidence interval (CI) 28,590-34,854)) compared with UC patients (CHF 20,351 (95% CI 18,454-22,596)); mean ratio of 1.54 ((95% CI 1.34-1.77), <i>p</i> < 0.001). In contrast, adjusted overall daily costs were lower for sPC patients (CHF 400); mean ratio 0.87 ((95% CI 0.79-0.97), <i>p</i> = 0.005), mainly due to reduced diagnostic and medication costs. However, longer hospital stays (sPC 11 days vs UC 5 days) offset daily cost reductions. UC patients had nearly double the total costs of timely sPC referral patients (cost ratio 0.52, CI 0.46-0.58).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>To capture intended and unintended effects and avoid oversimplified cost debates, hospital cost analyses of sPC should examine detailed cost sub-categories rather than only total costs. Cost optimization could be reached by timely transfer of patients with sPC needs. Future studies should investigate barriers to transitioning patients across care settings to improve both quality and cost-effectiveness.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"20 ","pages":"26323524261452273"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13260971/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148253248","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":"Community participation and consultation in palliative and end-of-life care: Building death literacy through a participatory theory of change.","authors":"Yakubu Salifu, John Davies, Katie Eccles, Kofi Adu Gyamfi, Glenys Caswell","doi":"10.1177/26323524261459462","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524261459462","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Death literacy refers to the knowledge, skills, confidence, and social capacity that enable individuals and communities to understand and respond to dying, death, and loss, including palliative and end-of-life care. In low- and middle-income countries such as Ghana, access to palliative care remains limited due to under-resourced health systems, poverty, and socio-cultural norms that discourage open discussions about death. Despite growing global interest in death literacy and public health palliative care, there is limited evidence on how these are developed through culturally embedded, community-led approaches in non-Western contexts.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To explore how the COMPASS-Ghana participatory intervention shaped community stakeholders' understanding of death, dying, and palliative care, and how stakeholder engagement contributed to culturally relevant and sustainable service development.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Qualitative participatory study informed by a Theory of Change framework.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data were generated through three interlinked participatory intervention activities: a stakeholder engagement session involving 37 participants from healthcare, policy, faith-based, philanthropic, and community leadership backgrounds; a Theory of Change workshop with 25 participants; and focus group with 12 nursing and midwifery students. Data from facilitated discussions and participatory mapping were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Three interrelated themes were generated: (1) building shared language and awareness around death, (2) embedding palliative care within existing community structures, and (3) enhancing collective agency for sustainable care. The intervention supported a shift from viewing death as taboo to recognising it as a shared community concern, increased confidence in discussing end-of-life issues, and highlighted locally grounded strategies to address financial, caregiving, and service access barriers.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Death literacy in Ghana emerges as a relational and collective process shaped through dialogue, trusted networks, and community action. Embedding palliative care within community and primary care structures aligns with public health approaches and supports Universal Health Coverage, responding to the World Health Assembly Resolution (WHA67.19).</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"20 ","pages":"26323524261459462"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13241610/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148200339","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":"Awareness and knowledge of palliative care in Tripoli, Lebanon: A cross-sectional study in a disadvantaged population.","authors":"Farah Demachkieh, Ahmed Kassab, Mouhamad Darwich, Lea Chaiban, Dalal Kasir, Yomn Rafaela Naji, Zein Adra, Sahar Jamal, Nayla Nahas, Zeina Dassouki","doi":"10.1177/26323524261449268","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524261449268","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Palliative care access remains limited in Lebanon, particularly outside the capital. Data on public palliative care knowledge and perceptions in general and among disadvantaged populations remain insufficient.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to assess palliative care awareness and knowledge among community users of a non-governmental organization serving socioeconomically disadvantaged populations in Tripoli, north of Lebanon.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured survey targeting 400 individuals using the Palliative Care Knowledge Scale (PaCKS) in the colloquial Arabic language. Data on palliative care awareness and background information were collected. Multivariable binary logistic regression using stepwise backward selection was conducted to identify predictors associated with palliative care knowledge levels and common misconceptions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Low awareness of palliative care was observed, with 95.8% of participants reporting never having heard of it. PaCKS's mean score was 9.24 ± 2.89; 40.8% (<i>N</i> = 163) had high scores (11-13), 42.8% (<i>N</i> = 171) had moderate scores (7-10), and 16.5% (<i>N</i> = 66) had low scores (0-6). Common misconceptions included perceiving palliative care to be limited to hospital care, to cancer, and to end of life. Higher educational attainment was a strong and stable predictor of palliative care knowledge and common misconceptions. Participants with middle or high school education had 1.754 higher odds (<i>p</i> = 0.013), and those with university education had 4.938 higher odds (<i>p</i> < 0.001) for higher knowledge compared to participants with no or primary education, potentially indicating a graded association. More than half of the participants expressed interest in having information about palliative care made generally available.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our results indicate low awareness and several misconceptions about palliative care along with the presence of health inequities. Low educational attainment, mainly linked to socioeconomic disadvantage, may limit health literacy, and as such, reduce access to information and the ability to understand complex concepts such as palliative care. These findings highlight the urgent need for a collaborative, multi-sectoral system-thinking, community-centered, and equity-driven approach that involves the community, researchers, healthcare providers, and policymakers.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"20 ","pages":"26323524261449268"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13237476/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148200320","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":"Nursing student's experiences of taking part in a Death Café: A qualitative study.","authors":"Jenifer Malumbres-Talavera, Marina Gómez De Quero Córdoba, Aida Bonet, Leticia Bazo-Hernández, María Roser Cuesta-Martínez, Judit Vives-Espelta, Rosa Raventós-Torner","doi":"10.1177/26323524261453400","DOIUrl":"10.1177/26323524261453400","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>To explore students' experiences of taking part in a Death Café and whether they consider the Death Café as being a useful educational tool.</p><p><strong>Background: </strong>Talking about death remains a taboo for both nursing professionals and students. Recognizing the importance of open dialogue, Death Cafés were established to provide safe spaces for individuals to share thoughts and feelings on this topic.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>A qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive study employing a descriptive analytical approach.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study was conducted between April 2025 and July 2025 at a public university in Catalonia. The Death Café was a mandatory activity within the palliative care course for all third-year bachelor/undergraduate nursing students. After the course, students were invited to participate in a questionnaire containing 12 open-ended questions, and all 39 students agreed to participate. Data were analyzed using Sandelowski's qualitative descriptive approach.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Following questionnaire analysis, 24 units of meaning, categorized into 7 subcategories and 2 categories emerged: (1) death without fear: normalizing dialogue and communication. The Death Café fostered speaking about death freely and without prejudices; (2) emotional management and group support in the learning process. Students reported a sense of emotional relief when speaking about death and considered it a tool that can enhance their capacity to support patients and families.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Most participants regarded the Death Café as a comfortable and enriching experience that provided a respectful environment for open conversation about death. The activity reduced perceived fears and taboos, promoted emotional reflection, and encouraged the sharing of diverse perspectives.</p>","PeriodicalId":36693,"journal":{"name":"Palliative Care and Social Practice","volume":"20 ","pages":"26323524261453400"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13234370/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148200366","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}