The central concept of end-to-life care is safeguarding a dying patient from possible suffering during that period of life. In addition to pain, suffering includes many problems: the inability to take care of oneself and a feeling of helplessness, guilt, and fear associated with the expectation of impending death. Moreover, patients tend to experience bitterness and regret due to unfinished business and unfulfilled obligations.
End-of-life care is designed to provide comprehensive measures to prevent and reduce the patient’s suffering in all its forms. The main task of high-quality palliative care is the maximum reduction of all components of the patient’s suffering carried out by comprehensive care and various types of assistance with the involvement of professionals in different fields.
The second concept of end-to-life care implies that a dying person has the right to live fully, with dignity and comfort until death. The medical staff helps patients come to terms with the loss, survive the fear of the future, and treat each day of life with gratitude. End-of-life care does not accelerate or postpone the approaching death and does not exclude the possibility of recovery (Gonella et al., 2019). End-of-life care understands the patient and his family as one. This means taking care of the patient’s family during the entire time of experiencing loss. Family members become members of the palliative care team. The positive psychological state of loved ones has a beneficial effect on the patient’s condition. End-of-life care aims to maintain the patient’s desire for life while simultaneously upholding his ability to perceive death as a natural process. Providing pain reduction and mitigation of other symptoms as well as psychological and spiritual support for the patient, end-of-life care allows the patient to lead an active life for as long as possible.
Reference
Gonella, S., Basso, I., De Marinis, M. G., Campagna, S., & Di Giulio, P. (2019). Good end-of-life care in a nursing home according to the family carers’ perspective: A systematic review of qualitative findings. Palliative medicine, 33(6), 589-606.