TY - JOUR
T1 - End-of-life care in U.S. nursing homes
T2 - A review of the evidence
AU - Oliver, Debra Parker
AU - Porock, Davina
AU - Zweig, Steven
PY - 2004
Y1 - 2004
N2 - Objectives: The purpose of this study was to systematically review the empiric evidence on end-of-life care in nursing homes in the United States The guiding research question for this review was what is the state of research evidence in end-of-life care in long-term care? Design: We conducted a systematic review of the literature. Data: The review was limited to published and indexed research in peer-reviewed journals in five major databases between 1995 and October 2002. Results: The initial search yielded a total of 395 articles. The search was narrowed, focusing on nursing homes in the United States and empiric research. The result was 43 articles related to research in end-of-life care in American nursing homes. It was categorized into eight foci: prognosis, pain, hospice, hospitalization, advanced care planning, communication, family perceptions, and miscellaneous. Conclusion: There is a dearth of research published in end-of-life care in the nursing home setting. What is available is primarily descriptive. The empiric research only documents poor end-of-life care in U.S. nursing homes. Empiric evidence has grown in this area, but there is now a need for research of creative and innovative solutions aimed at improving the quality of end-of-life care in this setting.
AB - Objectives: The purpose of this study was to systematically review the empiric evidence on end-of-life care in nursing homes in the United States The guiding research question for this review was what is the state of research evidence in end-of-life care in long-term care? Design: We conducted a systematic review of the literature. Data: The review was limited to published and indexed research in peer-reviewed journals in five major databases between 1995 and October 2002. Results: The initial search yielded a total of 395 articles. The search was narrowed, focusing on nursing homes in the United States and empiric research. The result was 43 articles related to research in end-of-life care in American nursing homes. It was categorized into eight foci: prognosis, pain, hospice, hospitalization, advanced care planning, communication, family perceptions, and miscellaneous. Conclusion: There is a dearth of research published in end-of-life care in the nursing home setting. What is available is primarily descriptive. The empiric research only documents poor end-of-life care in U.S. nursing homes. Empiric evidence has grown in this area, but there is now a need for research of creative and innovative solutions aimed at improving the quality of end-of-life care in this setting.
KW - End-of-life
KW - Hospice
KW - Nursing home
KW - Palliative care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=2642537850&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S1525-8610(04)70107-3
DO - 10.1016/S1525-8610(04)70107-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 15115574
AN - SCOPUS:2642537850
SN - 1525-8610
VL - 5
SP - 147
EP - 155
JO - Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
JF - Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
IS - 3
ER -