End of life discussion in an academic family health team in Kingston, Ontario, Canada

• Main Authors: Reta French, Wenli Zhang, Kelly Parks, Sarah Ashton, Matt Dumas, Atika Haider, Lawrence Leung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2013-01-01
• Series: Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
• Subjects: End of life discussion; patient-centred care; mixed-methods study
• Online Access: http://www.jfmpc.com/article.asp?issn=2249-4863;year=2013;volume=2;issue=3;spage=263;epage=265;aulast=French

Background: End-of-life (EOL) discussions remain difficult in non-terminal patients as death is often perceived as a taboo and uncertainty. However, the call for proper EOL discussions has recently received public attention and media coverage. Evidence also reveals that non-terminal patients are more satisfied with health-care encounters when EOL has been discussed. Objectives and Methods: The objective of this study was to explore the prevalence of EOL discussions in non-terminal adult patients, the perceived barriers to such discussions and suggested methods for improvement. A study mixed-methods study was performed by a group of PGY1 family medicine residents in an academic health team in Kingston, Ontario. Results: EOL discussion was performed in a very small proportion of non-terminal patient encounters. Compared with attending physicians, residents were less likely to discuss EOL issues and reported more perceived barriers. Conclusion: Our findings reflect the need for an early and open approach in conducting EOL discussion for non-terminal healthy patients.