• To recognise the need to improve end of life care for acute hospital inpatients
• To be aware of the barriers to delivering effective end of life care in acute care settings
• To understand the elements required for effective end of life care delivery in acute care settings
The acute hospital is the place of care and death for many people at the end of life, but not all hospital inpatients who are approaching death receive appropriate end of life care (EOLC). There are major barriers to the provision of effective EOLC to patients and their families in the acute setting.
This article describes the findings of a literature review that aimed to explore these barriers. The main barriers that emerged related to communication with patients and families, staff education and training, advance care planning, resources, multidisciplinary team working, and leadership and organisational culture. In the acute sector, as in healthcare in general, EOLC should be regarded as everyone’s business and all staff should be prepared to care for patients at the end of life and their families.
Cancer Nursing Practice. doi: 10.7748/cnp.2024.e1874
Peer reviewThis article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software
Correspondence Conflict of interestNone declared
Bowerman MH, Williams M (2024) Barriers to effective end of life care in the acute sector: a literature review. Cancer Nursing Practice. doi: 10.7748/cnp.2024.e1874
Published online: 25 October 2024
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