This exceptional work explores the complexities of communication at one of the most critical stages of the life experience--during advanced, serious illness and at the end of life. Challenging the predominantly biomedical model that informs much communication between seriously ill and/or dying patients and their physicians, caregivers, and families, Sandra L. Ragan, Elaine M. Wittenberg-Lyles, Joy Goldsmith, and Sandra Sanchez-Reilly pose palliative care--medical care designed to comfort rather than to cure patients--as an antidote to the experience of most Americans at the most vulnerable juncture of their lives. With an author team comprised of three health communication scholars and one physician certified in geriatrics and palliative medicine, this volume integrates the medical literature on palliative care with that of health communication researchers who advocate a biopsychosocial approach to health care. Applying communication theories and insights to illuminate problems and to explain their complexities, the authors advocate a patient-centered approach to care that recognizes and seeks to lessen patients’ suffering and the many types of pain they may experience (physical, psychological, social, and spiritual) during life-threatening illness.
This scholarly volume explores communication at the end of life, emphasizing palliative care and the circumstances of patients in need of such consideration.
Communication in Palliative Nursing presents the COMFORT Model, a theoretically-grounded and empirically-based model of palliative care communication. Built on over a decade of communication research with patients, families, and interdisciplinary providers, and reworked based on feedback from hundreds of nurses nationwide, the chapters outline a revised COMFORT curriculum: Connect, Options, Making Meaning, Family caregivers, Openings, Relating, and Team communication. Based on a narrative approach to communication, which addresses communication skill development, this volume teaches nurses to consider a universal model of communication that aligns with the holistic nature of palliative care. This work moves beyond the traditional and singular view of the nurse as patient and family educator, to embrace highly complex communication challenges present in palliative care-namely, providing care and comfort through communication at a time when patients, families, and nurses themselves are suffering. In light of the vast changes in the palliative care landscape and the increasingly pivotal role of nurses in advancing those changes, this second edition provides an evidence-based approach to the practice of palliative nursing. Communication in Palliative Nursing integrates communication theory and health literacy constructs throughout, and provides clinical tools and teaching resources to help nurses enhance their own communication and create comfort for themselves, as well as for patients and their families.
This exceptional work explores the complexities of communication at one of the most critical stages of the life experience--during advanced, serious illness and at the end of life. Challenging the predominantly biomedical model that informs much communication between seriously ill and/or dying patients and their physicians, caregivers, and families, Sandra L. Ragan, Elaine M. Wittenberg-Lyles, Joy Goldsmith, and Sandra Sanchez-Reilly pose palliative care--medical care designed to comfort rather than to cure patients--as an antidote to the experience of most Americans at the most vulnerable juncture of their lives. With an author team comprised of three health communication scholars and one physician certified in geriatrics and palliative medicine, this volume integrates the medical literature on palliative care with that of health communication researchers who advocate a biopsychosocial approach to health care. Applying communication theories and insights to illuminate problems and to explain their complexities, the authors advocate a patient-centered approach to care that recognizes and seeks to lessen patients’ suffering and the many types of pain they may experience (physical, psychological, social, and spiritual) during life-threatening illness.
Communication in Palliative Nursing unites complementary work in communication studies and nursing research to present a theoretically grounded curriculum for teaching palliative care communication to nurses. The chapters outline the COMFORT curriculum, comprised of these elements: Communication, Orientation and opportunity, Mindful presence, Family, Openings, Relating, and Team communication. Central to this curriculum is the need for nurses to practice self-care. Based on a narrative approach to communication, which addresses communication skills development holistically, this volume teaches nurses to consider a holistic model of communication that aligns with the holistic nature of palliative care. This work moves beyond the traditional and singular view of the nurse as patient and family teacher, to embrace more complex communication challenges present in palliative care -- namely, providing care and comfort through communication at a time when patients, families, and nurses themselves are suffering. In addition to collaborating with physicians, the nurse's role involves speaking with patients and families after they have received bad news and often extends to discussions of spiritual and religious concerns. This book covers communication theory, clinical tools, and teaching resources to help nurses enhance their own communication and create comfort for themselves, as well as for patients and their families.
Caring for the Family Caregiver examines the high cost and poorly addressed exigencies of the family caregiver in chronic illness, including health literacy, palliative care, and health outcomes, through the prism of communication. This book uses an interdisciplinary approach to identify the impact of communication and its burdens on the caregiver and presents four caregiver profiles: the Manager, Carrier, Partner, and Lone caregiver, each emerging from a family system with different patterns of conversational sharing and expectations of conformity. By synthesizing current data assessing the experiences of caregivers, as well as integrating the narrative experiences of a range of caregivers living through a variety of illnesses and their specific demands, the authors deliver an unflinching gaze at the journey of the caregiver. With an author team comprised of three health communication researchers and a nurse and health literacy expert, this volume integrates literature addressing caregiver needs and burdens, communication theory and practice, palliative care and health literacy research, and the real stories of caregivers. Caring for the Family Caregiver presents the groundbreaking concept of the Caregiver Types and an innovative set of support resources to facilitate improved pathways to better care for the caregiver, making it an essential resource for providers, students, clinicians, policy makers and family caregivers alike.
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