Factors related to good death in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a systematic review

Abstract

Background: Considerations for palliative care and quality of death has significantly increased over the past 10 years in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). Recent trends in ageing and increasing chronic disease burden have drawn attention to the need to pay attention to the concept of good death and related factors from the perspective of the local population. Aims: To assess the factors related to good death in the EMR. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and ProQuest on 22 October 2021 for English language articles, with no time limit, using keywords “quality of death”, “good death”, “quality of dying”, “good dying”, “Middle Eastern”, and countries in the Region. The quality of articles was evaluated using the Hawker criterion and based on the PRISMA guidelines. From the thematic analysis, the factors influencing good death were extracted. EndNote X8 software was used for data management. Results: The search yielded 55 articles, and 14 were included in the study, with a total of 3589 participants. Factors related to good death were classified into 2 main categories: patient preferences and end-of-life care. The former was divided into 4 groups: symptom management, psychological support, social support, and spiritual care. The second category included 2 subcategories: death control and patient autonomy, and end-of-life care. Conclusion: Although patients’ beliefs about good death are personal, unique, and different, perception about good death in the EMR depends on the extent to which patients’ preferences are met and end-of-life care is provided. More research on good death is recommended in the context of Islamic countries in EMR, and to empower patients and their families to better manage the dying process and create educational programmes.

Psychometric properties of Persian version of advance care planning questionnaire among older adults in Iran

“…These measures are generally known as advanced care planning (ACP), with the aim of helping patients who lack decision-making capacity at the end-of-life about future care [14] and it is considered as an essential step for achieving "a good death" [15,16]. ACP is defined as the process of making end-of-life treatment preferences, communicating goals of care, ordering life-sustaining treatments, and completing advance directives (ADs) [13].…”

Stakeholders’ perspectives of a good death: A qualitative study from Thailand

“…Life completion and dignity are considered core components of a good death in Western cultures [ 12 ]. In middle eastern cultures, patients' perspective of a good death includes autonomy, psychological support, and spiritual care [ 17 ]. Even among Eastern cultures, different meanings of a ‘good death’ can be found.…”

Psychometric properties of Persian Version of Advance Care Planning Questionnaire among Older Adults in Iran

“…These measures are generally known as advanced care planning, with the aim of helping patients who lack decision-making capacity at the end-of-life about future care (17). It is considered as an essential step for achieving "a good death", in which the physical and emotional pain is minimized, and the treatment preferences of the patient and the family members are respected (18,19).…”