The end of life is a highly emotive and critical period in the life course and families often play
a central role during this time. Despite significant sociological work on dying as a relational …

Understanding family dynamics is a key component in providing comprehensive care for
persons with progressive illnesses and their caregivers. The purpose of this study was to …

Background End-of-life communication becomes increasingly difficult in terminal cancer,
which inevitably entails conversations around dying and death. In resource-limited areas …

This article describes a qualitative study exploring the experiences of terminally ill patients
and their families as they lived with the inevitability of death. Frustrated by the dominant …

Background: Palliative care principles are known to support the experiences of children and
their families throughout the illness trajectory. However, there is little knowledge of the …

Objective: Previous studies reveal that many terminally ill patients never receive hospice
care. Among those who do receive hospice, many enroll very close to the time of death …

At present, end-of-life research, policy and practice typically prioritise the dying individual
and consider the family an orbiting static unit. Sociological theorising of dying has reflected …

This special edition of Palliative Medicine aims to address the important topic of how best to
support lay people (family, friends and significant others; hereafter called 'family carers') who …

Background: The way that people die is particularly important to those who are left behind
and this memory is not limited to the moment of death, but encompasses the entire end-of …

Older adults cared for at home by family members at the end of life are at risk for care
transitions to residential and institutional care settings. These transitions are emotionally …