End-of-life experiences and deathbed phenomena as reported by Brazilian healthcare professionals in different healthcare settings

Santos, Claudia Soares Dos; Paiva, Bianca Sakamoto Ribeiro; Lucchetti, Alessandra Lamas Granero; Paiva, Carlos Eduardo; Fenwick, Peter; Lucchetti, Giancarlo

doi:10.1017/s1478951516000869

Cited by 22 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…In Fenwick et al.’s (2010) five-year retrospective study of end-of-life experiences, 62% and 64% of the participants had deathbed phenomena related to them by patients or by patients’ relatives, respectively. Thirty-four percent of the hospice palliative care volunteers surveyed by Claxton-Oldfield and Dunnett (2016) had personally witnessed a patient having a DBV, and 48% had a patient or patient’s family member tell them about their dying loved one “seeing” a relative or friend who had long since died, and in a multicentre study in Brazil, 70% of the health-care professionals interviewed reported observing EOLP or being told about them (Dos Santos et al., 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Unusual End-of-Life Phenomena on Hospice Palliative Care Volunteers and Their Perceived Needs for Training to Respond to Them

2018

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Thirty-nine hospice palliative care volunteers completed a survey examining (a) their beliefs about end-of-life phenomena (EOLP), (b) the impact of EOLP on their lives, and (c) their perceived needs for training to respond to them. Forty-nine percent of the volunteers either had personally witnessed an EOLP in their volunteer work and/or had a patient or patient's family member report an EOLP to them. More than half of the volunteers strongly agreed or agreed that EOLP have influenced their religious beliefs and their spirituality in a positive way (53% and 59%, respectively). Eighty-nine percent of the volunteers indicated that they had never received any training about EOLP, and nearly all of the volunteers were interested in learning more about EOLP. After completing the survey, 59% of the volunteers shared stories about EOLP they had either personally witnessed or been told about. The most frequently reported experiences involved deathbed visions. The implications of these findings are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Unusual End-of-Life Phenomena on Hospice Palliative Care Volunteers and Their Perceived Needs for Training to Respond to Them

2018

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“…[18][19][20] Although a cultural and/or religious influence has been suggested, 10,21 there are many similarities between scientific reports from several different cultures/countries. 12,14,16,18,20,22 The prevalence of ELEs varies among studies between 20% and 90%, 7,16,18 with higher percentages reported by studies in which patients were asked about their experiences directly. 18,19 Despite the fact that ELEs are not uncommon, many clinicians are unaware or neglectful of the phenomenon due to the risk of being considered unprofessional.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

End-of-Life Experiences (ELEs) of Spiritual Nature Are Reported Directly by Patients Receiving Palliative Care in a Highly Secular Country: A Qualitative Study

Nyblom

Arnby

Molander

et al. 2020

Am J Hosp Palliat Care

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Introduction: Patients with life-threatening diseases have reportedly end-of-life experiences that are perceived positively. Loved ones and healthcare personnel may mistakenly interpret the phenomena as confusion and patients can be reluctant to talk about it due to fear of ridicule. Studies addressing patients directly are scarce and there is a lack of studies from highly secular countries. The aim was to establish whether end-of-life experiences are present among patients, oriented in time, place and person and receiving palliative end-of-life care in one of the world's most secular countries. If present, examine the content and patients’ subjective experiences. Design: Qualitative design with semi-structured, in-depth interviews. 25 participants, receiving end-of-life palliative care at home or in a hospice inpatient unit. Results: Patients were interviewed on 1-3 consecutive occasions. 16/25 patients reported end-of-life experiences of which the majority were perceived to be positive. Four themes were identified: vivid dreams while asleep, experiences while awake, references to medical circumstances and communication about end-of-life experiences. Prevalent content was deceased and living loved ones and journeys. Some patients distinguished between hallucinations/nightmares and end-of-life experiences. Conclusions: End-of-life experiences are present among oriented patients in a highly secular country and can have a profound positive impact, which warrants clinical attention. Education for healthcare personnel about end-of-life experiences is needed in order to support patients and loved ones and not mistakenly medicalize. Further directions for research could be to study the experiences of the phenomenon among health care personnel in the same context, which could strengthen the present findings.

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“…Depner, et al; Palliative Medicine Reports 2020, 1.1 http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/pmr.2020.0037 exemplified this, saying ''it was comforting to see the trees and it was a beautiful fall day, I felt happy.'' Equally, this category included emotions typically viewed as distressing: (1) uncertain/confused/ puzzled, (2) disturbing/distressing/scary/fearful/upset, (3) mad/angry/frustrated/disappointed/irritated, (4) worried/anxious/stressed/overwhelmed/concerned, (5) surprised/startled/shocked, and (6) sadness/sorrow/ blue. One participant reported a specific affective experience, ''I was watching children play in my house and someone got hurt I was very upset by this.…”

Section: Cqr Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] The ELDVs involve mental and sensory activity while the patient is asleep (dreams) or awake (visions) and are typically reported to include seeing or feeling the presence of deceased loved ones. Research has evolved from case-based anecdotes and caregiver secondhand accounts 4,5,9,11,[13][14][15][16][17] to reports of patient perspec-tives. 1,2,10 More recently, the scope of ELDV research has expanded to explore the impact on post-traumatic growth of patients 6 and bereavement outcomes of familial caregivers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expanding the Understanding of Content of End-of-Life Dreams and Visions: A Consensual Qualitative Research Analysis

Depner

Grant

Byrwa

et al. 2020

Palliative Medicine Reports

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Background: Research has established End-of-Life Dreams and Visions (ELDVs) as prevalent, meaningful valid experiences that may help patients cope with illness and approaching death. However, no inductive qualitative analysis has explored the phenomenology of ELDVs from the perspective of hospice homecare patients. Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the content of ELDVs by using a rigorous qualitative approach. Design: Five hundred forty-eight ELDVs were collected from weekly interviews of hospice homecare patients and analyzed by using Consensual Qualitative Research Methodology. Settings/Subject: Participants were enrolled in a county-wide hospice homecare program between January 2013-March 2015. Results: The following domains emerged: (1) Interpersonal, (2) Affective Experience and Reflection, (3) Activities, and (4) Setting/Location. Conclusions: This study suggests that ELDV content may include a broader spectrum of experiences that reflect waking life than previously believed. Clinical implications suggest that it may be important for providers to engage with ELDVs, as they are psychologically significant experiences that may be a source of clinical insight.

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End-of-life experiences and deathbed phenomena as reported by Brazilian healthcare professionals in different healthcare settings

Abstract: Our study revealed that ELE reports are not uncommon in clinical practice and seem to be little influenced by religious or spiritual beliefs. Although strongly reported in all settings, palliative care professionals tend to be more open to this issue and have a stronger perception of ELEs.

Cited by 22 publications

References 27 publications

The Impact of Unusual End-of-Life Phenomena on Hospice Palliative Care Volunteers and Their Perceived Needs for Training to Respond to Them

The Impact of Unusual End-of-Life Phenomena on Hospice Palliative Care Volunteers and Their Perceived Needs for Training to Respond to Them

End-of-Life Experiences (ELEs) of Spiritual Nature Are Reported Directly by Patients Receiving Palliative Care in a Highly Secular Country: A Qualitative Study

Expanding the Understanding of Content of End-of-Life Dreams and Visions: A Consensual Qualitative Research Analysis

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