ArticleBMC palliative care2012
Older patients' attitudes towards and experiences of patient-physician end-of-life communication: a secondary analysis of interviews from British, Dutch and Belgian patients.
Article in BMC palliative care, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Ageism in a health-related context: the physiological, psychological, and behavioral impacts of subtle age discrimination on older adults.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Use, usability, and impact of a card-based conversation tool to support communication about end-of-life preferences in residential elder care - a qualitative study of staff experiences.BMC geriatrics · 2022Article
- End-of-Life Decision Making in Palliative Care and Recommendations of the Council of Europe: Qualitative Secondary Analysis of Interviews and Observation Field Notes.Journal of palliative medicine · 2018Article
- Today´s medical self and the other: Challenges and evolving solutions for enhanced humanization and quality of care.PloS one · 2017Article
- "I just think that we should be informed" a qualitative study of family involvement in advance care planning in nursing homes.BMC medical ethics · 2016Article
- Barriers to shared decisions in the most serious of cancers: a qualitative study of patients with pancreatic cancer treated in the UK.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2015Article
- End of life care for frail older patients in family practice (ELFOP)--protocol of a longitudinal qualitative study on needs, appropriateness and utilisation of services.BMC family practice · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOlder patients often experience sub-standard communication in the palliative phase of illness. Due to the importance of good communication in patient-centred end-of-life care, it is essential to understand the factors which influence older patients' communication with physicians. This study examines older patients' attitudes towards, and experiences of, patient-physician end-of-life (EoL) communication in three European countries.
methodsA secondary analysis of interviews from British, Dutch and Belgian patients over the age of 60 with a progressive terminal illness was conducted. Cross-cutting themes were identified using a thematic approach.
resultsThemes from 30 interviews (Male n = 20, Median age 78.5) included: confidence and trust; disclosure and awareness; and participation in decision-making. Confidence and trust were reinforced by physicians' availability, time and genuine attention and hindered by misdiagnoses and poor communication style. Most participants preferred full disclosure, though some remained deliberately ill-informed to avoid distress. Patients expressed a variety of preferences for and experiences of involvement in medical EoL decision-making and a few complained that information was only provided about the physician's preferred treatment.
conclusionsA variety of experiences and attitudes regarding disclosure and participation in decision-making were reported from each country, suggesting that communication preferences are highly individual. It is important that physicians are sensitive to this diversity and avoid stereotyping. In regard to communication style, physicians are advised to provide clear explanations, avoid jargon, and continually check understanding. Both the 'informed' and the 'shared' patient-physician decision-making models assume patients make rational choices based on a clear understanding of treatment options. This idealized situation was often not reflected in patients' experiences.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.